Qinghai-Tibet Plateau gets hotter

Data from the Waliguan Atmospheric Background Station in Northwest China's Qinghai province shows that the annual mean value of carbon dioxide intensity in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has increased from 360 parts per million (ppm) in 1994 to 395 ppm in 2013, up by 9.5 percent.

"A direct influence will be increased temperatures, which will affect the ecological degradation and reduce water resources on the plateau," said Liu Peng, a special observer at the station.

The Waliguan station is one of the 24 global atmosphere watch baseline observatories in the world.

"The plateau is extremely sensitive to climate change and has a very important status in securing the national or even global ecological balance," said Huang Jianqing, another special observer with the station, adding that temperatures on the plateau would continue to increase.