Global warming has began impacting the snow clad Himalayan region as Tibet, referred to as the "roof of the world", has become warmer and wet over the past five decades, new data revealed.
The annual average temperature in Tibet rose 1.6 degrees Celsius from 1961 to 2012, while annual precipitation climbed 33 mm during the same period, according to the latest figures released by the regional meteorological bureau.
The Tibet climate change monitoring bulletin revealed that, since meteorological records began in Tibet in 1961, the mercury had climbed 0.32 degrees Celsius every decade on average.
Wang Chenghai, a professor at the School of Atmospheric Science of Lanzhou University, said a warmer climate in the cold, drought-prone Qinghai-Tibet Plateau could improve the environment without influencing regional ecological patterns.
With a warmer and wetter climate, the region would be covered with more vegetation and have a more favourable temperature for tourists, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Wang as saying.
