environment

March Brings Record Highs, Sudden Lows to China

Translations, cross-publications, and collaborative projects from Sixth Tone’s external partners. 

SIXTH TONE ×

Shanghai recorded its hottest March day in 90 years Tuesday. Then came a cold snap.

The Paper

In Climate Push, China Expands Carbon Market to Big Polluters

Timely reports on issues and events from across China. Drawing on a vast range of sources, these succinct articles provide insights into the significance of each issue in a wider context.

NEWS

Steel, cement, and aluminum sectors added to emissions trading system, raising coverage from 40% to over 60% of China’s emissions.

Jiang Xinyi

Fade to Black: What Lies Beneath China’s Lake of Legends

Articles that cut to the core of contemporary China. In-depth, informed, and carefully crafted, every piece is carried by the voices of the story’s participants.

FEATURES

Nearly 2,000 meters above sea level, a lake in southwestern China is drawing a steady stream of divers. Its pull: challenging diving conditions and the tales of China’s own Atlantis hidden below.

Li Pasha

China Counts Over 1,000 Snow Leopards in Largest Ever Survey

The survey highlights the significance of Qinghai province’s Sanjiangyuan region for snow leopard conservation and underscores growing climate change concerns.

Let It Burn: Why China Is Looking the Other Way on Farm Fires

After years of strict bans to curb pollution, China is reversing its zero-tolerance stance on crop burning, allowing controlled fires as officials navigate rural challenges and enforcement limits.

Ding Rui

‘Red Ghost’ Algae Swarms China’s Coast, Threatening Marine Life

Residents in southern China report algae blanketing beaches as experts warn of increasing pollution, health hazards, and risks to fisheries.

Li Xin

China Puts E-Bike Makers on the Hook for Battery Recycling

Amid rising safety and pollution risks, regulators want e-bike manufacturers to shoulder the costs of battery collection.

In Ningxia’s Boar Wars, Farmers and Hunters Unite to Save Crops

Visual stories that get up close and personal with contemporary China. A mix of short videos, documentaries, photography, and data visualization.

MULTIMEDIA

Gridlocked: When Jellyfish Brought a China Power Plant to Its Knees

The unexpected surge of jellyfish overwhelmed cooling systems, forcing workers to work around the clock to clear blockages and avert shutdowns — a crisis affecting coastal infrastructure worldwide.

Luo Yahan

China Moves to Tackle a Growing Menace: Rampaging Boars

Wily, aggressive, and weighing up to 200 kilos, wild boars have become a serious problem in many parts of rural China. Now, authorities are calling in the hunters.

The Bird-Whistling Guardian of Shanghai’s First World Heritage Site

Retired bird catcher Jin Weiguo has helped collect data on countless species of migratory birds as part of the protection team at the Dongtan nature reserve.

Into the Sandstorm: The 75-Year-Old Grieving Mother Creating a Green Miracle in the Desert

China Launches Three-Year Campaign Against Ocean Litter

The initiative aims to significantly clear 65 bay areas by 2025 and establish regular clean-ups by 2027.

Ye Zhanhang

Haitang, the Lost Chinese Whale, Finally Swims to Freedom

After a five-month rescue operation, the short-finned pilot whale has finally recovered from his injuries and been released back into the ocean.

Sixth Tone

The Villagers Turned ‘River Chiefs’ Helping to Protect China’s Waterways

Powerful Tornado Kills 5 as Extreme Weather Batters Guangdong

The EF2 level tornado, with wind speeds strong enough to rip out entire roofs, extended for about 1 kilometer, with videos showing debris from factory buildings being swept into the air.

He Qitong

Extreme Weather Battered China in 2023. This Year Could Be Worse.

The end of the current El Niño cycle will make severe heat waves, droughts, and floods even more likely, climate experts say.

China’s First Artificially Bred Pallas’s Cat Dies in Qinghai Park

In China, these elusive animals, which mainly inhabit the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, are at serious risk due to decades of hunting. Researchers say they are the most difficult feline to breed in the world.

4 Dead as Wildfires Sweep Across Yunnan and Sichuan

Authorities have attributed the heightened fire risk to dry weather, low rainfall, and human activities.

Spring Festival Travelers Fret as Extreme Weather Arrives

Some are bringing forward their travel plans to reduce the risk of cancellations and disruptions.