China's top weather official issued a warning on the threat climate change poses to the country, saying that China's average surface temperature has increased by 0.23 C each decade since the 1950s, nearly twice the global average.

Climate change is not only an environmental problem, but could also pose a serious threat to China's economic development, food security, water resources and energy security, said Zheng Guoguang, head of China's Meteorological Administration, the People's Daily reported on Monday.

"As the world continues to warm, the risks of climate change and climate disasters to China could become more serious," Zheng said on World Meteorological Day, which falls on March 23 every year.

Economic losses in China directly caused by climate disasters in the 21st century have been eight times the global average during the corresponding period, he added.

Climate change will reduce crop yields, lead to ecological degradation and contribute to the generation of smog, Zheng said.

Zheng also noted that climate change will pose a serious threat to some of China's "mega" engineering projects, such as the Three Gorges Dam, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

Wind and solar energy development may also be limited due to climate change, Zheng said.

He called for the country to adopt a low-carbon development path and promised to strengthen climate supervision and forecasting.

Yang Fuqiang, a climate and energy expert at the Beijing office of New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, told the Global Times that he was not surprised that China's temperatures are increasing more quickly than the global average.

"Human activities are the key reason China's temperatures have increased so quickly. The layout of climate monitoring stations needs to be adjusted along with urbanization as some stations could be too close to downtown areas or tall buildings, which makes their readings higher," Yang said.  

China has emphasized economic growth for decades, causing rapid urbanization and soaring demand for energy, Yang said.

"Fossil fuels accounted for the majority of energy consumption in China, which generated huge carbon dioxide emissions and led to climate change.

Moreover, massive construction projects in Chinese cities also increase thermal output," Yang said.

Pan Jiahua, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who also sits on the China National Expert Panel of Climate Change, echoed Yang, adding that improper urban planning has caused serious waste of resources. 

"The disaster prevention system in cities needs to improve as well," Pan said. 

China pledged to cap its carbon emissions around 2030 in a climate change cooperation deal signed with the US in November 2014.

"China needs to increase the share of renewable energy in its primary energy consumption and push forward industrial restructuring," Pan said.