Ancient Silk Road Art Faces Risks From Climate Change in China - Bloomberg
Ancient Silk Road Art Faces Risks From Climate Change in China - Bloomberg
Ancient Silk Road Art Faces Risks From Climate Change in China
- Dunhuang caves are at increasing risk of damage: Greenpeace
- Sites data back to 4th Century and are famed for Buddhist art
Artwork and statues in China’s Dunhuang caves have survived sandstorms, political upheaval and tourists for more than a millennium. Now preservationists fear they’re facing their most unrelenting foe yet — climate change.
Extreme weather is bringing increased bouts of heavy rainfall and moisture to the deserts of Gansu province that have preserved the caves and their artwork since they began to spring up in the 4th century, according to Greenpeace East Asia. Delicate paintings are increasingly flaking and peeling, and cracks are forming that could undermine the structural integrity of the caves themselves.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy
Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.
The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21).
Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29