(TibetanReview.net, 20.08.24) – Chinese scientists have warned that some low-altitude glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau may disappear permanently, which could have a significant impact on the plateau’s ecosystem. In fact, the loss of glacier mass in some regions of the Tibetan Plateau will exceed 50% by the end of the current 21st century, according to the scientists’ model predictions cited by China’s official report. Xinhua News Agency, August 20.
Over the past five decades, the plateau has witnessed rapid warming, with temperatures rising by about 0.4 degrees Celsius every decade. That’s more than double the average global warming rate over the same period, the report said.
Wu Guangjian, a researcher at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), cited the example of the Rongbuk Glacier at the foot of Mount Everest and explained: “It is decreasing in both length and height.”
Wu added that due to global warming, glaciers are evaporating faster than precipitation. In addition, small glaciers at lower elevations on the plateau are melting faster and are likely to disappear in the future.
The researchers, led by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, presented a summary of their findings from their ongoing work on August 18.
The scientists’ warning is so serious because the Tibetan Plateau is the region with the most glaciers outside the polar regions. “Data show that glaciers on the plateau store over 8 trillion cubic meters of water, providing vital water resources for more than 2 billion people downstream,” the report says.
“The model shows that lake water levels in some areas of the plateau could rise by more than 10 meters by the end of the century, which could increase the overall water supply capacity of the plateau,” said Yao Tandong, a CAS academician and leader of the second ongoing Chinese scientific expedition and research project on the Tibetan Plateau.
“However,” says Yao, “this also increases the risk of glacier collapse and flooding from glacial lakes.”
The scientists found that the area of grassland and forest has increased by 6 and 12 percent respectively over the past 15 years as a result of global warming, but they warned that these changes also bring an increased risk of extreme weather events.
Although the increase in vegetation helps prevent desertification, in the long term it will lead to a shift in the monsoon circulation and thus to heavier rainfall in summer.
These changes “could lead to significant shifts in the Asian monsoon circulation and potentially increase the frequency of extreme weather events in China,” the scmp.com On August 20, Yao was quoted as saying:
In this project, Chinese scientists used high-precision radar for the first time to create a continuous profile of snow and ice thickness on the summit of Mount Everest and accurately measure ice and snow depth.
Wu warned that if the world does not reach consensus on combating global warming and take action as soon as possible, “we will see the disappearance of glaciers in more and more regions of the world.”
Previously, the Chinese Meteorological Administration had warned that the total glacier area on the Tibetan Plateau could shrink by 40% by 2050, increasing the risk of severe storms and floods in the downstream areas, the scmp.com Report.
