Glaciers on China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau melting fast due to global warming

[tex-wyo-dem]

Glaciers on China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau melting fast due to global warming

XINING, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Glaciers in southwest China's Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the major source of the country's largest rivers, are melting faster than ever under the influence of global warming, researchers said.

Experts have been conducting research on the waters, geology, glaciers, and wetlands in the headwaters of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers in northwest China's Qinghai Province since 2005. Results from the study show that a large area of the glaciers has melted in the 2,400-square-kilometer region.

Glaciers are the largest source of fresh water on the planet. They are also a reliable indicator of climate change, and easy for scientists to observe.

An expert with Qinghai's Three-River Headwaters Office said the cluster of some 80 glaciers around the Aemye Ma-chhen Range, the source of the Yellow River headwaters, is shrinking especially fast.

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