Sean Gallagher Archive

China's Disappearing Glaciers - Tibetan Plateau

Flanked on either side by lush forests, the Hailuogou glacier is one of China's 8,500 monsoonal temperate glaciers which make up nearly 20 percent of the country's total glaciers. As a result of rising temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau, the Hailuogou glacier has retreated over 2 km during the 20th century alone. Since the Little Ice Age, studies have revealed that the total monsoonal glacier coverage in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau has decreased by as much as 30 percent, causing alarm in scientific circles.

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Contained in galleries: China's Disappearing Glaciers [2012]

Flanked on either side by lush forests, the Hailuogou glacier is one of China's 8,500 monsoonal temperate glaciers which make up nearly 20 percent of the country's total glaciers. As a result of rising temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau, the Hailuogou glacier has retreated over 2 km during the 20th century alone. Since the Little Ice Age, studies have revealed that the total monsoonal glacier coverage in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau has decreased by as much as 30 percent, causing alarm in scientific circles.