Special Report: Fight against Global
Warming
LHASA, May 6
(Xinhua) -- Tibet has felt some of the largest impact of global warming, China
Meteorological Administration (CMA) chief Zheng Guoguang said here Wednesday.
"In Tibet, the mercury has climbed an average 0.32
degrees Celsius every decade since records began in 1961," Zheng told more than
500 officials at a meeting in Lhasa on climate change. "This is much higher than
the national average temperature rise of 0.05-0.08 degrees Celsius every 10
years."
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Temperatures in Tibet have risen
continuously over the past 48 years at a rate much higher than the
national level, a meteorologist said Monday. (Xinhua
Photo)
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Tibet's temperature rise had also topped the global
average of 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade.
The plateau region, with an average altitude above
4,000 meters, is a "magnifier" of global warming as it is more sensitive to
temperature changes, Zheng said.
He said greenhouse gas tends to affect higher
altitudes, but Tibet, given its underdeveloped industries, produces little
greenhouse gas itself.
"The impact of global warming has accelerated glacial
shrinkage and the melting glaciers have swollen Tibet's lakes," he said. "If the
warming continues, millions of people in western China would face floods in the
short term and drought in the long run."
Further, extreme weather conditions often cause
geological disasters including mud-rock flows and landslides, he said.
In the worst case, Zheng warned such warming could
cause permafrost to melt and threaten the plateau railway linking Tibet with the
neighboring Qinghai Province.
A report by Tibet's regional meteorological bureau
earlier this year also warned the permafrost that lies on the path of the rail
link had been shrinking by 4.5 centimeters to 24.9 cm every decade since the
1960s.
The report quoted figures from four observatories
along the route, saying the fastest shrinkage was reported in Amdo County, which
has 346 kilometers of the railway.
While experts believe that at the current thawing
speed, the railway will remain safe for another four decades, the government has
spent more than 1 billion yuan (143 million U.S. dollars) in the past 20 years
to reinforce the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, also plagued by retreating permafrost.
"Tibet needs to tackle, and adapt to, the persisting
climate change," said Zheng, who advised the autonomous region to speed up
construction of hydropower stations and exploitation of renewable energy.
The regional government said Tibet has built a
meteorological observation network consisting 48 ground observatories and four
radar stations to monitor climate changes 24 hours a day.
Research: Tibet sees temperature rise
continuously over past 48 years
LHASA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Temperatures in Tibet have
risen continuously over the past 48 years at a rate much higher than the
national level, a meteorologist said Monday.
The research, based on data from 38 weather stations
of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Meteorological Bureau, indicated that the
average temperature in the landlocked region rose 0.32 degree Celsius every 10
years between 1961 to 2008, according to Du Jun, a senior engineer with the
bureau.
Tibet's annual precipitation rises in past 50
years
BEIJING, April 27
(Xinhuanet) -- The precipitation in southwest China's Tibet rose at an average
annual rate of 10.9 mm every ten years from 1961 to 2008, according to the
Meteorological Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region.
Statistics from the 38 climate data stations in the region
show that the annual rainfall recorded by most stations was on the rise, said Du
Jun, senior engineer of the Cimate Cnter of the bureau.
Tibet to set up more environment monitoring stations in
Qomolangama area
BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Tibet will complete
construction of an ecological environment monitoring and mountaineering weather
services system later this year, according to the regional Weather Bureau
Tuesday.
Another six new weather stations will be set up in
the Mount Qomolangama area, the bureau said.
