CHINA'S GLACIERS IN HOT WATER

BY TYlER RONEY



美丽中国SAVING CHINA

CHINA'S GLACIERS IN HOT WATER

BY TYlER RONEY

Climate change melts the Third Pole

泛滥的洪水，消失的美景，冰川消融还会带来什么？

C hina isn't the f rst country that comes to m ind when one thinks o f glaciers—and it m ight never be. From the Tomur glacier in X injiang and the M eili Snow M ountain in Yunnan to the Hailuogou glacier in Sichuan and the Rongbuk glacier in Tibet， there are more than 51，000 square kilometers of glaciers left in China， and they are retreating at alarm ing rates.

In June， X inhua con f rmed that Q inghai Province's Jianggudiru G lacier on Geladaindong M ountain had shrunk by more than 34 meters in just the past six years. “This is direct evidence of global climate change，” Yang X in， p resident of the G reen River Environmental Protection Association， told Xinhua. But Q inghai isn't the only one w ith problems； X injiang has more than 22，000 square kilometers of glaciers and all of them are being worn away by impending climate change disaster. In fact， since 1950， more than 18 percent of China's glaciers have disappeared according to a 2014 report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences—more than 244 square kilometers worth every year.

However， the problems aren't just the disappearance of these beautiful natural wonders； glacial water is a key component for reliable drinking water in many parts of rural China. That Jianggudiru glacier found to have retreated 34 meters isn't just a pretty sheet of ice； it's a large source of water for the Yangtze River. As it happens， most of China's important rivers begin w ith the waters of glaciers in the west and their retreat is having incalculable effects on both the biodiversity of the region and rural populations.

Indeed， this area of Central Asia is often considered the “Third Pole”， bringing water to more than 1.5 billion people throughout Asia. Waters from these glaciers water the felds and run in the rivers of Vietnam and M yanmar so it is not just a Chinese problem； however，the immediate fooding effects are defnitely a worry for the M idd le K ingdom. An off cial report from Chinese authorities in 2015 stated that， from 2008 to 2010， 173 Chinesecities experienced more than three incidents of fooding.

On China's northern border， there is the Altai， and it has experienced perhaps the worst degradation of any Chinese glacier， w ith Chinese reports claim ing that it has receded by 37.2 percent. The effects to the landscape have been catastrophic. According to a World Wild life Federation report，nearly 11 percent of mudfows in the region are the direct result of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood （GLOF） events and that “the number of glacial lakes w ithin one study area had jumped from 66 to 132.”

Luckily for China， most of the problems associated with the Altai are hitting Kazakhstan， but there are a few glaciers closer to home that are having nasty effects. In 2015， the Atka glacier shifted. The heavy weight of melting water on top collapsed the bottom and the end result was 1，000 hectares of farm ing land ruined and 70 homes destroyed. The trouble of China's glaciers is becom ing harder and harder to ignore.

Investigators traverse a tourist route in Ham i, Xin jiang to learn m ore abou t Ch ina's shrinking glaciers

And， while curbing climate change may be the duty of our global generation， greenhouse gases aren't the only cause of glacial recession. In Xinjiang， they're a tourist attraction. While the effects of receding glaciers are hard enough to m easure already， one billion RMB's worth of tourists have visited the shrinking X injiang glaciers over the past 10 years. This， at least， is an area where the government can take direct action.

Li Jidong， the Communist Party secretary of the Tourism Adm inistration in Xinjiang， said in February that， “We w ill ban glacier tourism by 2020 and propose rep lacing the existing facilities with holiday resorts.” Li also commented that others in the Tianshan M ountain region should， “Say no to glacier tourism.”

This is， however， just one solution to the myriad problems Chinese glaciers face. There's also m ining， urbanization， and new transport routes， all serving the secondary purpose of degrading China's glaciers. Compounding the problem is a lack of know ledge. Chinese scientists in the December 2015 issue of Advances in Climate Change Research stated， “Studies on glacier vulnerability to climate change have been seldom reported， and thus adaptive countermeasures formulated by Chinese government departments lack a scientif c basis， and fail to achieve optimal results.”

And， what's worse than foods is when the water stops altogether. The Tarim Basin is one of the driest places in the world—a marvel of natural beauty but also a horror story along the ancient Silk Road. Near glaciers， peop le worry about fooding， but people who depend on water from annual glacial run off often have to do w ithout entirely.

While some are concentrated on stopping global warm ing in its tracks， others are trying to fgure out what to do with the areas already hit by the global menace of climate change. The Sustainable Management of River Oases along the Tarim River （SuM aRiO）， a group of German and Chinese scientists， are looking at ways to keep the region afoat w ith innovative thinking. From irrigation to p lanting comm on reeds， they see that the Tarim Basin's problems w ith glacial recession are only beginning.

On the political front， the areas most at risk of fooding and the fast effects of melting and shifting glaciers are part of to China's One Belt， One Road project. This， perhaps， is the most trying aspect of dealing w ith the most immediate effects of climate change： cooperation. Unlike the North and South Poles， the Third Pole involves India， Nepal， Kazakhstan， China， and others that can't exactly communicate important changes in climate quickly or effectively—an upsetting state of affairs considering WWF found that glacial events in China can have effects in Nepal in just six m inutes. Data is measured irregularly， events go underreported， and important information is not relayed fast enough.

For now， China's disappearing glaciers are a m icrocosm for the hand climate change is ready to deal all life on earth. Perhaps， then， it m ight be a perfect p lace to fgure out how to fx it altogether.