Warmer and wetter suits Qinghai Lake
Print Edition
THE water level of China’s largest inland saltwater lake has risen over the past decade due to abundant rainfall and rising temperatures.
The average annual water level at the hydrological station at Qinghai Lake, in northwest China’s Qinghai Province, rose 1.66 meters over the last 10 years.
The rising water level is the result of increased precipitation and meltwater from glaciers and highland snow, according to Dai Sheng, an engineer with the provincial climate center.
Average annual precipitation reached 421.8 millimeters between 2005 and 2016, up 2 percent from 358.8mm between 1961 and 2004, Dai said. An improved ecosystem and vegetation had also helped to maintain water in the Qinghai Lake basin.
The surface area of Qinghai Lake also expanded to 4,429.3 square kilometers in September 2016, an increase of 169.7 square kilometers from the same period in 2004, according to a geographical survey in the province.
Qinghai Lake plays a key role in the ecological security of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The lake had been shrinking since the 1950s, but the combined effects of conservation and changes in the regional climate turned things around in 2005.
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