China records highest sea level in 2021 over past 40 yrs: report

China has recorded a high coastal sea level over the past ten years, reaching a high point in 2021, according to a report by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Over the past year sea level has been 84-mm higher than between 1993 to 2011, according to the recent report on China's sea level.

The rising sea level is largely due to global warming, which has led to the expansion of seawater, and the melting of glaciers and polar ice caps. In China, land subsidence also contributes to a relative rise in sea level.

In 2021, China's marine disasters mainly consisted of storm surges, and sea wave and sea ice disasters, causing a total direct economic loss of more than 3.07 billion yuan (about 459 million U.S. dollars), 36 percent of the average economic loss over the past decade, another report by the ministry said.

According to the report, the country has been taking measures in marine disaster prevention, such as promoting projects to prevent and control natural disasters, protecting and repairing the coastal belt, upgrading the marine observation network, and continuously improving marine early warning capabilities.