Climate Change Threatens China's Yangtze River Basin

paulmannix's Flickr photostream/Creative Commons

Climate change threatens to unleash severe storms, droughts, floods across China's Yangtze River Basin in the coming decades, unless proper mitigation measures are taken to protect the region from catastrophe, according to a new study from the WWF.

While we should continue to push for global emission cuts in Copenhagen this December, the consequences of warming temperatures are already apparent along the Yangtze, proving that it's imperative that action is taken now to protect the region. Adaptation measures will be critical and according to The Guardian:

The authors urged the authorities to ease the impact on people and the environment by developing hardier crop strains, shifting from corn to rice, improving the management of the river and dams, and by reinforcing dykes and power supply systems.

The study is the most comprehensive analysis of the impact of climate change on a major river basin, and reveals the vulnerability of the regions ecosystems as well as the one third of China's population that lives along the area.  Combating climate change must be a two-pronged effort, with efforts devoted to curbing greenhouse gas emissions running simultaneously with strategies to address negative impacts already in motion.  The clock is ticking, find out how you can get involved using the action link below.