BEIJING -- China recorded a 3.3-mm average annual increase of coastal sea level between 1980 and 2018, a speed faster than the global average, official data showed.

Monitoring and analytical results showed that China's sea levels in coastal regions were on an overall upward trend with fluctuation in the period, said a bulletin by the Ministry of Natural Resources Friday.

The accumulated rise of coastal sea level will result in loss of shoal, lowland flooding and damages to the ecological environment, and exacerbate natural disasters in coastal regions, according to the bulletin.

It also said 36 red tides were monitored in China's waters last year, affecting a total area of 1,406 square km.

To relieve the impacts of rising sea levels, the bulletin called for more efforts in scientific monitoring, ecological restoration and optimizing coastal spatial planning.