Study links ever hotter afternoons, sultrier nights in China directly to greenhouse gases

WASHINGTON – China is feeling the man-made heat of global warming. That’s the conclusion drawn by scientists looking at the burning of fossil fuels and one country’s rise in daily temperature spikes.

The Asian nation is the world’s largest producer of carbon dioxide. It emits more of the greenhouse gas than the U.S. and India, the next two biggest carbon polluters, combined.

While other studies have linked averaged-out temperature increases in China and other countries to greenhouse gases, this research is the first to link the warmer daily hottest and coldest readings.

Scientists say the spikes most affect people’s health, plants and animals. People don’t notice changes in averages, but they feel it when the daily high is hotter or when it doesn’t cool off at night after a sweltering day.