XINING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Glaciers covering almost
233 square kilometers have melted over the past 30 years in the source area of
the Yangtze River, China's longest waterway, due to global warming and the
melting is accelerating, experts said Tuesday.
By last year, the total area of glaciers had decreased to 1,051 square
kilometers from 1,283 square kilometers in 1971. Nearly 1 billion cubic meters of glaciers were
melting yearly, said Xin Yuanhong, senior engineer at the Water Resources and
Geology Institute of western Qinghai Province.
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A tourist walks by a wetland at the
source of the Yangtze River on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in this undated
file photo. (Xinhua Photo)
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About 164 square kilometers of glaciers melted in the
source area in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from 2002 to 2008. However, the figure
was only 68 square kilometers from 1971 to 2002, said Xin, who participated in
the ecological and geological survey on the source area of the Yangtze River.
The melt can reduce water in the lower reaches of the
Yangtze River, dry up lakes and trigger desertification, said Xin.
He said the rising temperatures in the area due to
continuing global warm were the major cause of the glacier
melt.
Survey: water pollution in Mt. Qomolangma
worsens
KATHMANDU, April 22
(Xinhua) -- Water pollution in the south side of Mt. Qomolangma, also known as
Mt. Everest, has worsened in recent years because of the influx of visitors and
the increase inhuman waste, according to a survey conducted in Nepal.
The survey, sponsored by the Hindukush Karakoram Himalaya
Partnership Project and the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, was carried
out in Sagarmatha National Park and its Buffer Zone (SNPBZ) of Nepal, some 130
km east of Nepali capital Kathmandu, in 2007 and 2008.
Climate warming affects China's river
source
BEIJING, June 25 --
Sanjiangyuan is one of the most eco-sensitive areas in the world. Located in the
middle of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it forms the source of China's three major
rivers, the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Lancang River, and is hence
known as the "water tower of China".
Both global warming and increased human activity pose a
significant threat to the local environment. Restoration of the area's
ecological balance will be a major challenge. Full story
