This winter, the drastic cold has battered not only China but many parts in the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe and North America. Shivering in the freezing weather, many now doubt the authenticity of global warming. We must realize, however, that particular weather events and long-term climate trends are two different matters.

Even if a region is struck by a strong cold wave with extremely low temperature that is unprecedented in decades, it might hardly impact the long-term global trend, since its effects could easily be neutralized by another warmer year or by higher temperatures in another region of the world. When we analyze the long-term trend of climate change, we have to examine data collected around the globe for at least 100 years.

The rising trend of global temperatures, however, is not as frightening as some scientists have suggested. According to reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global temperatures will soar by 1.4 to 5.8 C by the end of this century.