Chinese province on 'roof of world' registers warmest year in 2024

IANS January 18, 2025 288 views

Imagine a region so high up it's called the "roof of the world," now experiencing its warmest year on record. Scientists are tracking dramatic temperature increases in Qinghai Province, with temperatures rising significantly since 1961. These changes aren't just numbers - they're transforming the landscape, making the plateau warmer, wetter, and greener. The implications could be massive, potentially altering Asian monsoon patterns and increasing extreme weather events.

"Such changes could lead to significant shifts in the Asian monsoon circulation" - Yao Tandong, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing, Jan 17: China's Qinghai Province on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, which is often referred to as the "roof of the world," registered the warmest year in 2024, according to information released at a press conference on Friday.

Key Points

1

Qinghai's annual temperature rose 1.1 degrees above historical average

2

Climate change driving warming trends on Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

3

Glaciers decreasing while regional vegetation becomes greener

At the event that unveiled Qinghai's top 10 weather events in 2024, Guo Yingxiang, Deputy Director of the Qinghai climate centre, said that from 1961 to 2021, the annual average temperature in the province had been on a steeply rising trajectory, increasing by an average of 0.36 degrees Celsius every decade.

In 2024, Qinghai Province experienced above-average temperatures and increased precipitation. The year logged an annual average temperature of 3.9 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees higher than the historical average, marking it as the warmest year for the province since meteorological records began in 1961.

Qinghai Province is experiencing rising temperatures and an increase in extreme warm weather events due to global climate change, Guo said.

The Qinghai-Xizang Plateau was becoming warmer, wetter and greener, said Yao Tandong, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in August last year.

According to Yao, the glaciers and snow cover on the plateau are decreasing, while the vegetation is greening, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Such changes could lead to significant shifts in the Asian monsoon circulation, potentially increasing the frequency of extreme weather events in China," Yao said at a press conference of the second Qinghai-Xizang Plateau scientific expedition and research.

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