Sanjiangyuan is one of the most eco-sensitive areas in the world. Located in the middle of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it forms the source of China's three major rivers, the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Lancang River, and is hence known as the "water tower of China".
Both global warming and increased human activity pose a significant threat to the local environment. Restoration of the area's ecological balance will be a major challenge.
Glaciers melting, snow line rising
Animaqing Snow Mountain, the eastern branch of Kunlun Mountains, is the greatest mountain peak in the headwaters of the Yellow River. Among 18 peaks over 5,000 meters above sea level, the highest rises to 6,282 meters.
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The snow line of the mountains in Sanjiangyuan is rising due to melting glaciers.
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With the exception of a little snow at the peak, more than 90 percent of the mountain is black-brown. An unnamed official in Maduo County told Guangzhou Daily that the snow line is rising due to melting glaciers.
According to him, there have even been two avalanches within the last two years. They resulted in two large barrier lakes, from which the melted water later drained away.
Other glaciers along the Kunlun mountain range are also disappearing. Li Xiaonan, deputy director of the Sanjiangyuan Office in Qinghai Province, explains that they have sent scientific staff to investigate changes in these glaciers. The snow line indeed seems to be rising, but precise data is not yet available.
A survey of the geological and ecological environment in the headwaters of the Yellow River has indicated that glaciers cover an area of 1,051 square kilometers in the region, 196 square kilometers below the maximum recorded in 1976. This suggests a melting rate of 989 million cubic meters per year.
