Unprecedentedly high water levels in Bosten Lake are painting an
unmistakable picture of the dramatic effects of climate change.
Situated in northeast China's
Xinjiang
Uygur Autonomous Region this is China's largest, freshwater
inland lake.
Predictably dry winters always used to bring low water levels to
the lake but this winter the water is less than a meter below its
highest recorded summer level. Figures released by the Water
Control Administration of Bosten Lake show the surface of the lake
is currently 1,048.40 meters above sea level compared with last
summer's record high of 1,049.36 meters.
These and other statistics are consistent with a climate change
hypothesis and the effect is not limited to Bosten Lake for the
waters of two other lakes in the region -- Aiding Lake and Aibi
Lake -- have also been expanding rapidly since the 1990s.
In
2001, the water runoff in Xinjiang topped 100 billion cubic meters.
This exceeded the average over the preceding 45 years by no less
than 23 billion cubic meters. These figures were contained in the
2001 water resources communiqui made public recently by the Water
Conservancy Department of Xinjiang.
"The situation is due to the climate changing from warm and arid to
warm and humid in Xinjiang," said Hu Ruji, a researcher at the
Xinjiang Ecology and Geography Institute established under the
auspices of the authoritative Chinese
Academy of Sciences.
Hu
said that signs of climate change in the region had been identified
as early as 1987. The effects are particularly evident to the west
of Tianshan Mountain, which is heavily influenced by the prevailing
westerly winds.
This has been a change mostly for the better, not only in terms of
ecological improvement as the region takes on its new green mantle
but also for the boost it has brought to agricultural production.
But on the downside a dramatic growth in precipitation has also
brought severe flooding to Xinjiang.
Hu
said that the experts are redoubling their efforts in observing,
monitoring and analyzing the hydrological resources, lakes,
glaciers and ecology of the region together with what can be
learned of the region's climate not only of today but also in
antiquity.
They hope to generate the necessary scientific body of knowledge
from which to derive effective measures to promote Xinjiang's
long-term social, economic and environmental development.
(China.org.cn translated by Zhang Tingting, January 13, 2003)