In order to adapt to the impacts of climate change, most countries in the region have developed National Adaptation Plans and Strategies and are now gearing up to implement them. ‘UAE-Belem work programme’ convened by UNFCCC is working on refining and developing indicators for measuring progress towards the Global Goal on adaptation in eight domains – water, food, health, ecosystems, infrastructure and human settlements, poverty and livelihoods, cultural heritage, and policy cycle.
I have visited different cities in China many times; among them is Lijiang, in Yunnan province in southwestern China. This time I was there to attend the launch workshop of the Third Pole Climate Forum (TPCF) of the Third Pole Regional Climate Centre (TPRCC)-Network. The ‘third pole’ refers to the high mountain region of Asia, including the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region above 2000m, which features the largest area of frozen water outside the polar regions. This workshop in early June was attended by about 70 professionals from 18 countries engaged with the TPRCC-Network.
The TPRCC-Network is led by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), and consists of three sub-regional geographical nodes – (i) Northern TP Node; (ii) Southern TP Node (India); and (iii) Western TP Node (Pakistan). It is facilitated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The TPCF provides a regional collaborative platform that brings together national, regional, and international climate experts, users, and stakeholders, including national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHSs). It is led by the CMA in collaboration with the India Meteorological Department, the Pakistan Meteorological Department, and the WMO. ICIMOD is a technical partner to the TPRCC-Network, along with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Third Pole Environment (TPE), Global Cryosphere Watch (GCW), Global Water and Energy Exchanges (GEWEX) and Mountain Research Initiative (MRI). My colleague Miriam Jackson and I have been participating online in several TPRCC-Network meetings since last year.
It was exciting to visit yet another ancient city in China. I was travelling with another participant, and after an hour’s scenic bus ride at dusk, we approached the brightly lit Lijiang. Being a centre of tourism, there were many shops and restaurants catering to lively groups of people.
Ancient water management in Lijiang
The city of Lijiang is said to go back more than 100,000 years and is considered one of the most important centres of ancient human activity in southwestern China. It is famous for its Old Town, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Old Town contains a fascinating blend of different historical architectural styles, and its water management and culture are an important part of its heritage. The system was built during the late Song dynasty, in the late 13th century CE. I was very keen to explore the ancient city’s traditional water management system. As we walked through the Old City, on either side of the old cobblestone streets, we saw drains that kept the road dry despite the rain. We took a long walk through the ancient city, admiring its beauty and its well-preserved infrastructure, including the traditional water wheels that were used for irrigation.
Scaling new heights in the Hengduan mountains
A field visit to the Yulong glacier situated in the Hengduan mountain range was an eye opener. A cable car took us to a glacier park with an observation platform at 4,506 metres above sea level (masl) (14,783 ft). I had never been on a cable car at such an altitude. There was also another observation deck, about 200m higher, with winding steps going up the mountain side.
Despite it being a rainy day, there were many tourists, with raincoats and carrying portable oxygen cylinders. There has been a sharp rise in the number of tourists in the Yulong area in recent years, from 1.2 million in 2002 to 4.32 million in 2018 with numbers continuing to rise. The influx of tourists is good for the local economy but had me wondering about its impacts on glaciers in the area, and on the rate of glacial melt in particular. My concerns were substantiated by an article in the Journal of Glaciology, which suggested that the major reason for glacier retreat in the Yulong mountain was the increasing number of visitors to the glaciers and the development of unsustainable tourism activities and infrastructure such as roads, hotels, cableways, and communication lines that accompanied the increase in the number of vehicles and a rise in the region’s ‘floating populations’. Tourism has undoubtedly been an economic boost for Lijiang city, but has also resulted in unsustainable water use. In addition, inadequate water management measures have caused a deterioration in the water quality.
Accelerated glacier retreat in the Yulong
Wang et al. (2020) show that glaciers in the Yulong Snow Mountain retreated by 64 per cent between 1957 and 2017. Between these years, the mean annual mass balance of one of the glaciers (Baishui River Glacier No. 1) was -0.42 ‘metre water equivalent’ – a term used to indicate whether a glacier has become thicker or thinner, – which is higher than that reported for the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region in ICIMOD’s 2023 HI-WISE report on the cryosphere and ecosystems in the HKH.
A number of observation stations have been installed on the Yulong mountain by the Chinese Academy of Sciences to monitor the changes in the cryosphere. The first real-time monitoring system for glaciers in China was established in 2021. Due to global warming and localised anthropogenic factors, the snow line – the altitude above which there is snow perennially – in the Yulong Snow Mountain continues to rise, and there is an accelerated melting and shrinking of glaciers, with profound impacts on the availability of water.
Products and proceedings from the TPCF
Participants at the inaugural session of the TPCF mainly discussed the demands of climate and cryosphere products and services for the Third Pole and assessed the current state of monitoring of the Asian alpine climate system. A seasonal outlook was discussed and finalised. The statement from the workshop provided an overview of surface air temperature (SAT), precipitation, snow cover, and the extreme events and hazards observed during the preceding season in regions of the Third Pole, and offered an outlook for temperature and precipitation for June to September 2024 to inform decision-making.
The workshop and visits to Lijiang and the Yulong glacier underlined the practical importance of an improved understanding of the cryosphere through knowledge and information and its linkages with people and society. The TPRCC-Network plans to organise regular meetings of the TPCF twice a year to provide seasonal outlooks that would enable better preparedness and improved decision-making in the Third Pole region.
