The average temperature in Tibet for the first four days of July
is up to five degrees higher than the average temperature on the
plateau region in previous years.
Temperatures were three to five degrees higher in Xigaze
Prefecture, Shannan Prefecture and areas around Lhasa over the past
four days, He Xiaohong, a senior engineer with the region's
meteorological station, said on Wednesday.
The temperature in Lhasa on Monday reached a high of 29 degrees,
the highest in 30 years for July.
Low rainfall and dry, hot weather have resulted in drought in
some areas such as Xigaze and Shannan, but the situation is not
serious, He said.
Global warming has decreased the thickness of frozen earth on
the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by four to five meters in the last 50
years.
The plateau, regarded as a barometer for the world's climatic
conditions, has seen its glaciers melt at an annual average rate of
131.4 square kilometers over the past three decades.
And the situation is set to worsen. Tibet experienced its third
"warm winter" in the last seven years this year, with a temperature
rise of nine degrees more than average in some areas.
(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2007)
