The temperature in Beijing broke a 161-year record on Monday. Not alone, most of the country has so far experienced unusally warm weather this winter. So did many other parts of the world.

At a press conference yesterday, Qin Dahe, head of the China Meteorological Administration, attributed the abnormal temperatures to global warming. He also named global warming as the culprit for the severest drought in 50 years in eastern Sichuan Province and Chongqing and for the lowest water level in several decades in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Global warming is no longer just a phrase in papers and books. The reality is that we are facing droughts and seeing the water level in our longest river drop too low for ships to navigate.