Glaciers in and around Tibet shrink at alarming rate
February 23rd, 2009 - 11:57 am ICT by IANSWashington, Feb 23 (IANS) A three-year study shows that glaciers in the Yangtze source area, central to the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in south-western China, have receded 196 square kilometres over the past 40 years.
Glaciers at the headwaters of the Yangtze, China’s longest river, now cover 1,051 square km compared to 1,247 square km in 1971, a loss of nearly a billion cubic metres of water. The tongue of the Yuzhu glacier, the highest in the Kunlun Mountains, fell by 1,500 metres over the same period, showed the study, to be used by the China Geological Survey Institute.
Melting glacier water will replenish rivers in the short term, but as the resource diminishes drought will dominate the river reaches in the long term. Several major rivers including the Yangtze, Mekong and Indus begin their journeys to the sea from the Tibetan plateau, one of the largest land-based wilderness areas left in the world.
“Once destroyed it will be extremely difficult to restore the high-altitude ecosystems,” said Li Lin, head of Conservation Strategies for WWF-China. “If industrialised and developing countries do not focus their efforts on cutting emissions, some of this land will be lost forever and local populations will be displaced.”
Glacier retreat has become a major environmental issue in Tibet, particularly in the Chang Tang region of northern Tibet. The glacier melting poses severe threats to local nomads’ livelihoods and the local economy, according to a WWF release.
The most common impact is that lakes are increasing due to glacier melting and some of the best pastures are submerged. Meanwhile small glaciers are disappearing due to the speed of glacier melting and shortage of drinking water has become a major issue.
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