Weather watchers in Qinghai Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region in northwest China have reported the highest winter temperatures ever recorded.

Some parts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau reported temperatures that were 4 to 5 degrees Celsius above average between the beginning of December and the end of February, the China Meteorological Administration said yesterday.

Meteorologists around the world have their eyes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, as it could reflect the beginnings of climate change.

The temperature spikes are remarkable when considered against the forecast that global temperatures might rise 1 to 5 degrees Celsius in the coming 100 years, according to the United Nations' top scientific authority on global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"Temperatures have been climbing in recent years on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," said Wang Ling, an expert with the climate effects evaluation department under the National Climate Center.

During the previous year, Tibet's winter temperatures were the third-highest on record and Qinghai's the second-highest. The winter of 2001 ranked the second highest in Tibet and the winter of 2003 ranked the third highest in Qinghai. Temperatures readings have been collected in the area since 1951.

Most parts of Tibet, Qinghai and western Sichuan reported winter temperatures 2 to 4 degrees higher than average.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2006)