Chinese scientists have found that the climate in China's northwestern region is undergoing a gradual shift from a warm and dry climate to a warm and wet one, and the region is expected to see more rainfall by 2050.

The findings stem from a research program on the changing rules of the ecological environment and the sustainable use of water and land resources in western China conducted by a group of scientists from the Environmental Research Institute and the Project on the Cold and Dry Region carried out under the supervision of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Scientists have found that temperatures in the western region have climbed significantly over the past four decades. Comparing the 1987-2000 period with the 1961-1986 period, the average temperature in the western region rose by 0.7 degrees Celsius.

In the 1990s, the average annual temperature in the western region was 6.8 degrees, or 0.8 degrees, 0.7 degrees and 0.6 degrees higher than that of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, respectively, according to scientists.

The current warm weather in the region is not only the warmest period in the last 100 years, but also the warmest period in the past 1,000 years.

During the two decades between the 1980s and 1990s, annual rainfall increased markedly in the central and western parts of China. The Qilian Mountain Range area, the Gansu Corridor and Qinghai province recorded 10 to 20 percent increases in rainfall during the period from 1987 to 2000, as compared with the 1961-1986 period.

Scientists have also found that the water volume of rivers has risen due to increased rainfall and melted glaciers. The pace of desertification has declined, the water level of lakes has risen and the number of sandstorms has been significantly reduced in the western region.

Moreover, scientists say, global warming, which accelerates the circulation of water, is one of the main reasons that western China is expected to experience increased rainfall by the middle of the 21st century.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2003)