Currently, climate change and its impacts are receiving widespread attention worldwide. Abnormal weather and extreme weather have triggered a series of chain reactions, causing some world heritage sites to be severely damaged in the disaster, which has made the world sigh. Recently, the Department of Ecology and Environment of Shanxi Province, the Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau, and the Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Fund jointly issued the "Declaration on the Protection of Cultural Heritage under Climate Change", calling on the whole society to pay high attention to the profound impact of climate change on cultural heritage, and leave rich historical heritage and cultural wealth for future generations. What is the relationship between cultural heritage and climate change? How to do a good job in protecting cultural relics under climate change? With these questions in mind, the reporter interviewed relevant experts. Multiple types of cultural heritage are affected. Wang Xiaolong, Vice President of Shanxi Provincial Institute for the Protection of Ancient Architecture and Colored Mural Painting, introduced that the architectural design of different eras is directly related to the local climate conditions at that time. The ancients have always followed the concept of respecting, respecting, and adapting to nature, and created their own living spaces according to local conditions. One of the most common patterns is that during periods of cooler climate and more snowfall, the roof of a house becomes steeper, making it easier for snow to slide off, while during warm and rainy periods, the slope of a building's roof becomes noticeably slower. However, after enduring the climate test of the construction period, these ancient buildings still have to continue to compete with modern climate change. In recent years, incidents of cultural heritage damage have occurred frequently due to seawater erosion, forest fires, floods and droughts, and sudden earthquakes. Previously, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's updated policy document on climate action for World Heritage stated that "climate change has become one of the most significant threats facing World Heritage, potentially affecting its outstanding universal value, including its integrity and authenticity, as well as its economic and social development potential at the local level.". "Cultural heritage is sensitive to climate change. According to data released by UNESCO in early 2024, one sixth of the world's cultural heritage is threatened by climate change." Wu Yuanfeng, assistant researcher at Shanxi Kecheng Energy and Environment Innovation Research Institute, said that the impact of climate change on cultural heritage is multifaceted, including short-term and long-term impacts. She told reporters that according to relevant research, an increase in temperature may lead to thermal expansion of some ancient building materials, causing structural deformation or damage. High temperatures may also accelerate chemical reactions, leading to the fading of oil or mural pigments. The global climate change makes the frequency of extreme climate events increase year by year, and rainstorm is a typical representative. Wu Yuanfeng told reporters that floods, hurricanes, and other factors may cause physical damage to cultural heritage to a certain extent. At the same time, sudden increases in precipitation may cause groundwater levels to rise, leading to moisture and mold growth, thereby damaging cultural relics. She mentioned that changes in humidity and temperature can provide an environment for microbial growth, posing a threat to cultural relics made from organic materials. The changes in UV intensity may cause damage to certain sensitive materials, especially in painting and textiles. She also introduced that from the perspective of cultural heritage types, climate change not only affects material cultural heritage represented by ancient architecture, murals, and painted sculptures, but also affects intangible cultural heritage, such as the 24 solar terms. "With global climate change, some phenological phenomena, such as plant flowering and animal migration, may occur prematurely, which may no longer fully match the traditional phenological characteristics reflected by the 24 solar terms. The indicative function of the 24 solar terms on agricultural production is also weakening." Wu Yuanfeng believes that these types of impacts indicate that the protection of cultural heritage needs to comprehensively consider the complex challenges brought about by climate change and take corresponding response measures. New Requirements for Cultural Heritage Work: In October 2021, an abnormal heavy rainfall in Shanxi province left Wang Xiaolong with vivid memories. In that continuous heavy rainfall, many ancient buildings in Shanxi were damaged. "The relatively low rainfall in Shanxi's history is an important reason why ancient buildings have been preserved to this day." Wang Xiaolong told reporters that the sudden rainstorm caught Shanxi's ancient buildings off guard, and a large number of ancient buildings were eroded by rain. Among them, due to heavy rainfall, the inner wall of No. 84 of the ancient city wall in Pingyao, Shanxi Province collapsed locally, with a length of about 25 meters. In response to the characteristics of the ancient city wall in Pingyao, the cultural heritage personnel used modified rammed earth to repair the wall, greatly improving the compactness, hardness, and waterproof performance of the rammed earth. Wang Xiaolong introduced that water damage is one of the most common and destructive types of disasters faced by architectural heritage. Its damage to ancient buildings includes roof leakage caused by daily rainfall, dampness of walls and exposed wooden components, and dampness of wall roots and column bases caused by surface water and groundwater. All of these may cause the decay of building wooden components, alkalinization of brick and tile components, and instability of rammed earth structures. In addition, floods, mudslides, and uneven settlement of foundations caused by heavy rainfall can cause more severe structural damage to ancient buildings. When there is less rainfall, the building can timely remove moisture; But continuous cloudy or heavy rainfall may lead to material deterioration, causing local flickering, collapse, and even overall collapse Wang Xiaolong said that in recent years, climate change, especially the increase in rainfall, has brought new challenges to cultural heritage conservation work and also put forward new requirements. In recent years, governments and international organizations have taken action to address the adverse effects of climate change. Wang Xiaolong introduced that in 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which established a basic framework for the international community to address global climate change issues. In 2017, UNESCO issued the Climate Change Action Strategy, which plays a very important guiding role in the protection of world cultural heritage. In 2021, the International Council of Monuments and Sites approved the "Cultural Heritage and Climate Change Action" three-year scientific plan for 2021-2024, with the aim of improving the heritage protection system under the impact of climate change. The National Strategy for Adapting to Climate Change, issued by China in 2013, has already covered cultural heritage related content, requiring "necessary protective measures to be taken to prevent further deterioration of tourism resources caused by climate conditions such as water, heat, rain, and snow, and to strengthen the protection of scenic resources threatened by climate change, as well as endangered cultural and natural heritage.". The National Cutural Heritage Administration is also actively promoting the response to climate change to protect cultural heritage. Specific measures include exploring the construction of a cultural relic disaster prevention and reduction system, establishing a flood season cultural relic disaster information reporting and emergency response system, and providing guidance for specific types of cultural relics to cope with extreme weather. Digital technology provides solutions for protecting cultural relics, not only in times of disasters, but also in every moment of daily life. Emergency measures such as waterproofing when it rains and fire prevention when it occurs are important, but not a long-term solution. Professor Xu Yitao from the School of Archaeology and Humanities at Peking University believes that to address climate change risks, in addition to fully understanding the material properties of cultural relics themselves, targeted protection work should also be carried out in combination with the climate change trends and characteristics of the environment they are in. Taking the daily maintenance of ancient buildings as an example, doing some inconspicuous work, such as pulling grass on the roof, replacing individual rafters or door and window components, plastering walls, reinforcing loose foundations, repairing or replacing weathered floor tiles locally, can help extend the lifespan of ancient buildings. In Wang Xiaolong's view, protecting cultural heritage from the damage caused by climate change requires efforts from the whole society, as well as multi departmental and interdisciplinary cooperation. At the same time, it is necessary to continuously optimize the policy system and mechanism for cultural relic protection, and enhance the ability of heritage to resist risks. In recent years, technology has played a crucial role in addressing the impact of climate change on cultural heritage conservation. For example, high-tech equipment such as hyperspectral imagers and optical coherence tomography systems can perform non-destructive testing and analysis on the structure and process information of cultural relics, which is conducive to in-depth exploration and comprehensive understanding of the intrinsic value of cultural relics. In terms of cultural relic restoration and display, using techniques such as multi image 3D modeling and 3D printing, high-precision and rapid acquisition of three-dimensional geometric data of cultural relics can be achieved, providing assistance for restoration work, promoting the restoration of cultural relics to their original appearance, and preserving their original value to the greatest extent possible. Although positive human actions can mitigate the impact of climate change, the aging and degradation of World Heritage sites themselves are also difficult to transfer by human will. Wang Xinyuan, Deputy Director of the UNESCO International Center for Space Technology for Natural and Cultural Heritage, believes that digitization is an important means to delay the aging of cultural heritage and even permanently preserve cultural heritage information. Not long ago, the digital restoration results of the Zeng Hou Yi Zun Pan were released, which used industrial CT technology to obtain the complete three-dimensional structural model of the Zeng Hou Yi Zun Pan for the first time. Through digital processing, a three-dimensional digital restoration video was produced. As the most complex bronze artifact in China to date, the Zeng Hou Yi Zun Pan is regarded by the archaeological community as the pinnacle of Shang and Zhou bronze artifacts. This time, industry experts used industrial CT technology to accurately scan and model the Zeng Houyi statue, clearly restoring the internal structure, and paving the way for the digitization of cultural relics. "Historical and cultural heritage is an irreplaceable and precious resource." Wang Xiaolong believes that digital technology provides a new solution for the protection and utilization of cultural heritage. It not only allows for more accurate recording and complete preservation of the information contained in ancient architecture, but also provides data support for scientific management and in-depth research, and can improve the level of cultural heritage revitalization and utilization. Under the complex climate change, how to protect historical and cultural heritage, better tap into its multifaceted value, and integrate it into people's lives is a challenge faced by contemporary cultural heritage preservation workers. The widespread application of digital technology has opened up new space for solving this problem, with unlimited potential Wang Xiaolong said. (Lai Xin She)