A series of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau are melting rapidly, and this situation could have negative impacts on Vietnam and many other countries in Asia.
Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau are melting at an alarming rate
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a vast region with an average elevation of over 4,500 meters above sea level. Often referred to as the “roof of the world“, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau captivates many with its majestic beauty, blanketed in snow year-round. Additionally, it is known as the “third pole of the Earth” due to its vast water reserves in ice, second only to Antarctica and the Arctic. It is comparable in size to Western Europe and provides water for nearly 2 billion people in Asia through major rivers such as the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Indus, Brahmaputra, and Yellow River.
Due to temperatures rising at least four times faster than in other parts of Asia, the Tibetan Plateau may soon lose most of its glaciers and underground ice, significantly affecting water supplies across Asia, scientists warn.
A pasture on the Tibetan Plateau. (Photo: AP).
As a result of climate change, glaciers and grasslands are rapidly shrinking, desertification is spreading, rainfall in the region has become erratic, water levels in major rivers are declining, and permafrost is melting.
Several studies show that the melting of glaciers in Tibet, the largest frozen water reserve outside the polar regions, has caused numerous environmental consequences locally and globally—including heatwaves in Europe.
Glaciers are melting at an increasing rate
Chinese officials estimate that about 14.5% of the world’s frozen water exists in Tibet. Although researchers offer various hypotheses regarding the reasons behind glacier melt, they all agree that the rate of disappearance is accelerating.
In April, Xinhua News reported that the annual area of glacier loss is 247 km2, and approximately 7,600 km2 of glaciers—equivalent to 18% of the total glacier area in Tibet—have melted since the 1950s.
Several countries in Asia will be adversely affected by the shrinking glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau. (Photo: softpedia.com).
Zhang Mingxing, an official in Tibet, confirmed that the glacier at the foot of Mount Everest, which stands 5,200 meters above sea level, has long since disappeared.
“Only stones remain where the glacier once was,” he told Xinhua News.
Research results on Tibetan glaciers indicate that carbon from forest fires, agricultural burning, and cooking activities in India is contributing to glacier melt. Nonetheless, scientists assert that global warming is the primary culprit.
Tibetans have noticed significant temperature changes since the 1980s. An American of Tibetan descent expressed shock at how weather impacts local clothing styles when he returned to Lhasa. “When I lived in Lhasa before, people rarely went outside wearing shirts. But now they stroll in shorts,” he said.
In 2010, National Geographic reported that the width of a glacier on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is decreasing by 300 meters each year. Glaciers here are melting at a faster rate than anywhere else in the world.
In 2009, Qin Dahe, a leading glacier expert in China, warned that glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau are melting faster than anywhere else globally. He predicted that this situation would increase the frequency of floods and landslides in the near future.
“In the distant future, water supplies in Asia will dwindle,” he stated.
Many researchers predict that most glaciers in the Himalayas will disappear within the next 20 years.
The melting glaciers are a source of water for some of the largest rivers in the world that flow through China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
“Water is the most important resource for the region. It is a key factor in poverty alleviation, electricity production, agriculture development, and many other activities,” said R. Rangachari, a scholar at the India Policy Studies Center and former Indian Minister of Water Resources.
A climate change researcher on the Tibetan Plateau from the Chinese Academy of Sciences confirmed that water levels in the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers have dropped due to glacier melting.
“Every major river in Asia receives water from Tibet, and the water supply in the plateau is decreasing,” he said.
Climate change and environmental pollution are two of the causes of glacier melt. (Photo: China Daily).
In 2013, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources reported that about 28,000 small rivers in China had suddenly disappeared in 2011. Although Beijing did not provide specific hypotheses, researchers believe that warming on the Tibetan Plateau is one of the causes.
“Another important factor is the melting of ice in the permafrost, leading to groundwater depletion,” commented an anonymous researcher.
Moreover, the melting glaciers on the Tanggula Plateau have also caused flooding and many other terrifying disasters. For instance, in 2016, two melting glaciers triggered a devastating wave that killed nine people and hundreds of livestock in Aru village, Ngari province. In October 2016, another ice block detached from a glacier and destroyed a bridge over the Yarlung Zangbo River.
According to research from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, more than 80% of underground ice in Tibet will disappear by 2100, and 40% of glaciers will melt in the near future.
Increased risk of conflict due to melting glaciers
Numerous changes on the Tibetan Plateau have raised concerns among experts about potential water-related conflicts in the region, especially between India and China.
To mitigate adverse environmental impacts, China has constructed many dams along several rivers originating from Tibet, despite opposition from many downstream countries.
Currently, the Salween is the only river in Tibet that has not been dammed by China. Beijing has built a dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, which feeds the Brahmaputra River in India.
