China recorded warmest temperature and witnessed more extreme weather occurrences than usual, according to the national meteorological service.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) reported the average temperature in 2021 was 10.7 degrees Celsius (51.3 degrees Fahrenheit), one degree higher than typical in recent years and the highest since 1961, the earliest year for which data is available.

According to the figures, "warming" was the dominant aspect of China's weather last year, according to a climate specialist. All 12 provinces recorded record high temperatures, including the country's key economic center in the Yangtze delta of Zhejiang and Jiangsu, SCMP reported.

China's average temperature in 2021, highest in 60 years

According to state news agency Xinhua, CMA spokesperson Song Shanyun said during a press briefing on Wednesday that more intense, extensive, and frequent weather occurrences were recorded last year than typical. The average rainfall in 2021 would be 671.3mm, which is 6.8% more than in prior years.

With 697.9mm, the northern area had the second highest total on record, more than 40% more than the norm. In July, the central province of Henan was devastated by heavy rains, with the capital city Zhengzhou receiving more rainfall over three days than it typically receives in a year.

Per The Independent, the prevalence of agricultural pests and illnesses might likely quadruple across China by the end of the century due to global warming, said a new study. The Asian giant's food security might be under peril due to the spike, as claimed by the study published earlier this month in the journal Nature Food.

The research analyzed a treasure of previously unreported data dating from 1970 to 2016 and containing more than 5,500 historical crop pest and disease (CPD) records in China.

It compared long-term data records of pest and disease occurrence in the country to probable climate driving elements like temperature, precipitation, and humidity, as well as factors from farming methods like fertilizer application, irrigation, and pesticide usage.

The multinational team of experts, including a team from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), discovered that the prevalence of agricultural pests and illnesses in China rose by a factor of four during the 1970s. They stated climate change is likely responsible for around a fifth of the reported rise, with considerable variability across various Chinese regions.

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Scientists hope to create "unlimited clean energy"

Meanwhile, China's "artificial sun" operated for 20 minutes at a stunning 70 million degrees in its newest experiment - five times hotter than the genuine sun. Scientists think the gadget will help harness the power of nuclear fusion, which would bring civilization one step closer to providing "unlimited clean energy" by imitating events that naturally occur within the sun.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, researchers have been busy performing experiments at the Experiential Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), a nuclear fusion reactor facility, to make its auxiliary heating system more "hot" and "durable." The facility is called an "artificial sun" because it mimics the nuclear fusion reaction that powers the real sun - which uses hydrogen and deuterium gasses as fuel.

Designed and built by the Chinese, the EAST has been utilized since 2006 by scientists from all across the world to conduct fusion-related studies. But the project has recently achieved a crucial milestone.

The "artificial sun" was kept at 70 million degrees for 1,056 seconds, or 17 minutes and 36 seconds, by researchers. The actual sun achieves temperatures of roughly 15 million degrees in its center, as per NY Post.

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