Tibet records rising temperatures

(Xinhua) Updated: 2014-03-23 14:22

LHASA - Global warming has reached the snow-capped Himalayas in south China's Tibet, with rising temperatures and more extreme weather, according to an official climate report.

The report on climate change and environmental monitoring in Tibet was published by Tibet Climate Center this week. The report is based on analysis of climate data collected between 1961 and 2013, showing that the average temperature in Tibet has been rising by 0.31 degrees Celsius every decade.

Tibet is the highest region in the mid-latitude regions, and seen as a barometer of global warming. Du Jun, deputy director of the center, said on Saturday that rising temperatures have been accompanied by increased precipitation, up by 6.6 millimeters every 10 years for the past five decades.

There is also a trend of more severe extreme weather. Both the record low temperature of -36.7 degrees Celsius and the record high temperature of 32.3 degrees Celsius were logged in Tibet last year.

Du said with the pace of global warming, the average temperature in Tibet would rise by 1.96 degrees Celsius from 2011 to 2100, which would be mainly through a rise of winter temperatures.

Warmer temperatures and increased precipitation are likely to add greenery to the plateau region.