CAS
November 24, 2015
Yaks graze on land covered with snow in Nagqu, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, Nov. 12, 2011. (Xinhua/Wen Tao)
The Tibetan plateau gets warmer and moister, particularly over the past 50 years, said a report on environment change in the region publicized on Wednesday by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research.
The average annual temperature in the region rose by 0.3 to 0.4 degree Celsius every ten years from 1960 to 2012, about twice the average of the rest of the world. The temperature rose more sharply in winter and in northern part of the plateau.
Ice core records showed that temperatures in the region rose the most in the 20th century. According to climate change models, the next 100 years may see the plateau warming by 4 degrees Celsius.
Precipitation showed an overall rise from 1960 to 2012 of 2.2 percent every ten years, but changes in precipitation were unevenly distributed. Precipitation in the north increased, while that in the south declined.
In the meantime, the report also highlighted that natural disasters are on the rise on the Tibetan plateau as the region is affected by global warming and increased human activity.
It said disasters including landslides, torrential floods and snow disasters are expected to increase and fires will be more difficult to prevent and extinguish.
According to the report, about 1,500 mountain torrents were reported on the plateau from 1950 to 2010, with the worst in 1998 when more than 50 counties in the Tibet Autonomous Region were affected.
Photo taken on July 15, 2014 shows the melting ice of Purog Kangri Glacier in Shuanghu County, Nagqu, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Tang Zhaoming)
The floods on the plateau are attributed to frequent extreme precipitation during rainy seasons.
Meanwhile, the report warned iced lakes and barrier lakes on the plateau are also posing a threat as more than 20 overflowed during the 20th century, leading to severe disasters in the region.
As one of the major forests in the nation, risk of fire is also high due to strong wind and lack of rain and snow, it said.
From 1988 to 2014, a total of 373 forest fires were reported, according to the report.
In addition, the scale of snow storms and avalanches has expanded markedly over the past 40 years under the influence of climate change, affecting human activities and the climate in the north hemisphere, the report said.
With an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, the Tibetan plateau, known as the core of “The Third Pole,” refers to the areas within southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. (Xinhua)
