Global Warming Melts Glaciers on China's Yulong Mountain
By admin on 2014-12-22

    Glaciers on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, also known as Yulong Mountains in Lijiang, southwest China's Yunnan Province, are melting at an unprecedented rate due to global warming, Xinhua reported on Wednesday.

    Under the effects of global warming, the glaciers have shrunk dramatically over the past two decades. The glacier's surface area is smaller and the glacier tongue and snow line on the mountain have receded, according to He Yuanqing, an expert in glaciers and geomorphology with the Chinese Academy of Science.

    Between 1982 and 2002, the biggest glacier tongue on the mountains receded 250 meters. The glacier's lowest point rose 65 meters in altitude, from 4,255 meters in 2004 to 4,320 in 2009, according to the environmental observation station's measurements.

    With 13 peaks in its range, the snow-capped Yulong Mountains are home to the southernmost glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. With a total area of 11.61 square kilometers, the mountains stretch 35 kilometers from north to south and 13 kilometers from east to west.

   The mountains have been a popular spot for sightseeing, mountaineering, skiing, exploration, scientific research and vacationing since 1996.