![[지금은 기후위기] Global heating threatens tea production](http://img.lb.inews24.com/facebookexternalhit/face/626x352/image_gisa/202103/1616040056603_1_130106.jpg "[지금은 기후위기] Global heating threatens tea production")
[아이뉴스24 정종오 기자] As the global heating increases seasonal temperature changes, it has been shown that China’s tea production is threatened. Tea is a widely consumed beverage around the world.
A joint research team composed of a research team at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Environmental Studies (corresponding author) and Peking University in China and Colorado State University in China uses high-resolution past car production data and meteorological data collected over a long period of time at the level of local administrative districts in China. For the first time, the relationship between low temperature) and tea production was found.
The research team used the data of representative concentration paths (RCP, expected scenario depending on greenhouse gas concentration) of 21 global climate models to achieve extreme high and low temperatures in the global warming of 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees according to the increase in greenhouse gases. Quantitatively predicted the impact of future tea production in China.
The research results (paper title: Effects of extreme temperature on China’s tea production) were published online in March 2021 in the international journal Environmental Research Letters.
Climate change and global heating have caused significant losses to the yields of major crops such as wheat, rice and corn around the world. Not only these major crops, but also popular beverages such as wine, coffee, and beer are threatened by climate change, according to a study.
Tea, which is the second most consumed beverage in the world, has few studies evaluating the effect of production due to climate change when compared to beverages such as coffee and beer.
This study is the first study to examine the relationship between historical tea production data and temperature change in China, which accounts for the world’s largest tea production.
The research team quantified the relationship between tea production in China due to extreme temperature changes using tea production data from 1990 to 2016. It has proven that tea production in China is vulnerable to extreme high and low temperatures.
It can be seen that in the current climate, tea production in China is more affected by low temperatures than extreme high temperatures. The decrease in tea production due to extremely low temperatures showed a great difference locally.
In the Shandong region, tea production decreased by up to 56.3%. In northern China (above 28 degrees north latitude), climate change has made tea production more suitable. The area where tea can be grown is rising to high latitudes.
Unlike the current climate, which suffers damage from tea production due to extreme low temperatures, it is predicted that in the near future, tea production will decrease by 14-26% due to high temperatures due to climate change in some regions of Guangdong Province, Guangxi Province, and Yangtze River.
Professor Soo-jong said, “The climate change caused by the increase in greenhouse gas is not just warming, but it is also accompanied by extreme changes in the number of days at high and low temperatures, so it has been shown to have a great impact on future car production.” If we can’t stop it, it could affect the price of drinks such as green tea and black tea, which we enjoy inexpensively.”
/Sejong = Reporter Jeong Jong-oh ([email protected])