20090128 Sea level along China's coast to rise 0.13 meter in 30 years

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn Li Xiaoming, director of the department of oceanic protection of the SOA, said global warming, earth subsidence and unusual climate phenomena all attributed to the rise of sea level. The report said among all the coastal seas, the East China Sea saw the fastest rise in sea level, with an annual increase of 2.9 millimeter over the past three decades. Li said the rise of sea level could add to damage caused by marine disasters such as storm tides, coast erosion, sea water encroachment and soil salinization. The Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta, the Yellow River Delta and coastal areas of Tianjin -- regions located along the coast with the country's most developed economy -- are the key areas that will suffer the impacts of a rise in sea level, Li said. The SOA has suggested governments of coastal cities improve sea level monitoring and take the impact of sea level rise into consideration when making economic development plans, according to the report.

20090128 China to pump 21.3B yuan into water diversion program

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn China will invest 21.3 billion yuan (US$3.11 billion) in the south-to-north water diversion program this year, according to office in charge of the program under the State Council. The program, aiming to provide sufficient water for China's northern regions which have suffered water dearth for years, will connect the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Yellow River and Haihe River. It embraces three water-diversion channels -- the eastern, middle and western ones. The program will take 40 to 50 years to complete. Construction of the eastern route started in December 2002, and the first-phase project of the middle route began a year later. Over the years till the completion of the first-phase projects of the eastern and middle routes, they will annually drive the Chinese economy up by 0.2-0.3 percentage points, providing jobs for 500,000 to 600,000 people every year, according to Zhang Jirao, head of the program office.

20090113 Beijing may get Yangtze water in 2014

clipped from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-01/13/content_7392041.htm BEIJING -- The Yangtze River in South China is expected to provide 1 billion cubic meters of water every year to Beijing starting 2014, according to the municipal water authority. "The River water supplied by the South-to-North Water Diversion Project will help tackle the city's water shortage problem," Cheng said. Beijing has had water shortages partly because of its geography, with nine years of consecutive drought starting 1999. It has received only 75 percent of its expected precipitation over that period. The shortage in Beijing is set to reach a crisis point in 2010, when the population is expected to top 17 million, or 3 million more than its resources can support. The South-to-North Water Diversion Project, consisting of eastern, middle and western routes, is designed to divert water from the water-rich south of the country, mainly the Yangtze River, the country's longest, to the dry north. a control tower stands on the Miyun reservoir, north of Beijing, China.

20090112 -6 ℃ 打鼓嶺處處結霜 寒冷天氣料持續至周四

clipped from appledaily.atnext.com 【 本 報 訊 】 天 氣 持 續 冰 冷 ， 受 強 烈 冬 季 季 候 風 影 響 ， 天 文 台 昨 在 打 鼓 嶺 氣 象 站 錄 得 攝 氏 零 下 0.8 度 的 創 紀 錄 低 溫 。 凌 晨 3 時 ， 本 報 記 者 手 持 的 溫 度 計 更 顯 示 ， 現 場 氣 溫 是 攝 氏 零 下 6 度 。 寒 天 下 打 鼓 嶺 出 現 霜 降 ， 田 野 間 、 車 廂 外 泛 銀 白 的 霜 雪 ， 菜 農 的 蕉 皮 變 脆 、 菜 根 枯 死 ； 近 百 名 長 者 不 適 入 院 。 由 於 冬 季 季 候 風 今 日 逐 漸 增 強 ， 天 文 台 預 計 寒 冷 天 氣 將 持 續 至 本 周 四 ， 今 日 市 區 最 低 氣 溫 會 低 至 攝 氏 9 度 。 　 記 者 ： 區 恩 傑 、 宋 光 明 、 雷 子 樂 打 鼓 嶺 上 山 雞 乙 村 泊 在 路 上 的 私 家 車 車 頂 及 車 身 鋪 上 白 白 的 一 層 霜 。 耐 寒 的 西 洋 菜 割 下 放 在 路 旁 ， 葉 上 仍 有 霜 。 天 文 台 解 釋 ， 昨 日 打 鼓 嶺 天 晴 、 風 弱 ， 故 出 現 「 輻 射 冷 卻 」 導 致 低 溫 。 輻 射 冷 卻 指 晚 間 由 於 沒 有 太 陽 照 射 ， 地 面 又 不 斷 散 發 熱 能 ， 因 此 地 面 溫 度 下 降 。 天 寒 地 凍 ， 長 者 安 居 服 務 協 會 昨 表 示 ， 直 到 晚 上 9 時 ， 有 1,876 名 長 者 按 動 平 安 鐘 ， 95 人 需 要 入 院 ， 大 部 份 是 感 氣 促 、 頭 暈 ， 求 助 人 數 較 去 年 同 期 升 三 成 。 民 政 事 務 總 署 昨 在 各 區 開 放 11 間 臨 時 避 寒 中 心 ， 供 有 需 要 的 市 民 避 寒 。 天 文 台 上 周 四 開 始 發 出 寒 冷 天 氣 警 告 。 天 文 台 昨 日 表 示 ， 華 北 的 氣 壓 正 在 上 升 ， 預 料 影 響 華 南 的 冬 季 季 候 風 今 日 逐 漸 增 強 ， 未 來 數 天 將 會 持 續 寒 冷 及 乾燥 。

20090108 SCMP- Amah Rock vs Everest in votefor world's seven natural wonders

clipped from prd3-wisesearch.wisers.net Mount Everest, the Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon and the Yangtze River are obvious contenders for the seven natural wonders of the world ... but Amah Rock? The 15-metre-high Amah Rock in Lion Rock Country Park is so named because it is said to resemble a woman carrying a baby on her back. Its Cantonese name is mong fu shek - "stone watching for husband". "Everyone in Hong Kong knows the rock," Chinese University geography professor Ng Sai-leung said. "When valuing a rock, it is not its shape that matters but also the story attached to it. The story of Amah Rock is sad and beautiful." Young Ng Chun-yeong, chairman of the Association for Geoconservation, had a different view. "When judging a natural site, one should look into its rarity, aesthetic value and if it is spectacular enough. Amah Rock is very ordinary." The spokeswoman said Amah Rock would need official support - from the government, for example - to be named a finalist.

20090106 Guatemalan landslide kills 35, more missing

clipped from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-01/06/content_7370003.htm An aerial view shows a landslide in San Cristobal Verapaz, January 5, 2009. At least 35 people were killed and as many as another 60 were missing after a huge chunk of mountain slid onto the road they were walking on in northern Guatemala on Sunday, officials said. [Agencies] The landslide, triggered by a geological fault, brought some 10,000 tons of rock crashing down in a sparsely populated area near the small indigenous town of San Cristobal Verapaz, around 124 miles north of Guatemala City. The victims were laborers returning home from coffee farms in a nearby department. They had apparently ignored warnings not to use the road, which was closed in December after a smaller rockfall killed two people. "The people doing the rescue are taking every precaution because there are rockfalls every two minutes," Garcia told a news conference. small rockfalls that made it impossible to get heavy machinery to the area, in the mountainous northern department of Alta Verapaz.

20090104 Four killed as quake strikes Indonesia's Papua

clipped from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-01/04/content_7364510.htm JAKARTA - A series of powerful earthquakes off the northern coast of West Papua, Indonesia, early on Sunday killed four people, injured several others and flattened buildings, officials and local television said. Residents look at a hotel damaged after an earthquake in Manokwari, West Papua January 4, 2009. [Agencies] The US Geological Survey (USGS) said a magnitude 7.6 quake occurred some 150 km (95 miles) northeast of Manokwari in the Indonesian half of the island of New Guinea, at a depth of 35 km (21.7 miles). An official at Indonesia's meteorology agency said there were several quakes in the area during the night. The quake triggered a small tsunami that hit the Japanese coast but there was no damage, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The Indonesian authorities also issued a tsunami warning for Papua, but lifted it shortly afterwards.

20090103 No major misuse of quake relief funds: National Audit Office

clipped from www.chinadaily.com.cn Relief funds and supplies for survivors of last May's earthquake have by and large been well-managed and spent, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said. But a number of minor issues were of concern, according to the report released on its website on New Year's Eve - the fourth since the disaster, which killed about 70,000. About 59.273 billion yuan has been received in donations for earthquake survivors by governments, companies, groups and individuals from home and abroad. But across the nation, questions have been raised as to how exactly the funds have been, or are being, spent. Anti-corruption officials and nearly 10,000 auditors have worked in quake-hit areas, trying to respond to public concerns by monitoring relief funds and materials through early intervention. The NAO said its next project is auditing reconstruction efforts in quake zones.