Tibetan Plateau

Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the world’s highest plateau, with an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, known as the “roof of the world”. Actually, Tibet Plateau and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are different geographical concepts. The concept of the Tibetan Plateau in China refers only to a part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, whose range refers to the area south of the Kunlun Mountains, north of the Himalayas, east of the Karakorum Mountains, and west of the Hengduan Mountains. After the mid-20th century, the term “Qinghai-Tibet Plateau” was widely used in China. However, in foreign countries, the term “Tibetan Plateau” was adopted to describe the whole Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which had been used since the beginning of the 20th century. The scientific research community in China has adopted the Tibetan Plateau to translate “Qinghai-Tibet Plateau”. So Tibetan Plateau mentioned below will be stated in a broad concept as Qinghai- Tibet Plateau.

The climate features strong radiation, abundant sunshine, less accumulated temperature, and the temperature decreases with the increase of the altitude and latitude. According to calculations, the average annual temperature decreases by 0.57°C for every 100 meters of altitude increase, and the annual average temperature decreases by 0.63°C for every 1-degree increase in latitude. Winter is dry and cold with strong wind; Summer is cool and rainy with hail sometimes. In a word, the four seasons are not easy to distinguish. The average temperature of the warmest month in most areas is below 15℃, and the average temperature in January and July is 15-20℃ lower than that of the eastern plain at the same latitude. According to climate classification, except for the valley area in the southeastern margin, the whole of Tibet has no summer throughout the year. The annual total radiation value is as high as 5850-7950 MJ/m2, which is 0.5-1 times higher than the eastern plain at the same latitude.

The Plateau of Tibet is an initiator and regulator of climate change in the northern hemisphere, for the climate change of this area is not only a direct driver of climate change in the east and southwest of China but also the Northern Hemisphere. Even global climate change presents sensitivity, proactivity, and regulations. The uplifted Tibetan Plateau acts as a giant windshield, effectively blocking the cold air from the northern continents from entering South Asia. At the same time, the Himalayas block warm and moist air from the south to the north, which is an important factor to cause the rainy season in South Asia. The plateau gets heated obviously in summer, thus forming an anticyclone in the upper air, which greatly enhances the intensity of the South Asian monsoon, as well as affects the location and intensity of the subtropical high.

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