The area of Seoul has decreased by 3.6 times over the past 30 years due to glaciers in Xinjiang... Concerns about flooding and debris flows

(Beijing = Yonhap News) Correspondent Jong-gu Han = It was found that the area of ​​glaciers in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China, which is 3.6 times the area of ​​Seoul, has decreased over the past 30 years.

There are warnings that as temperatures rise rapidly due to global warming, the risk of natural disasters such as glacier collapse, floods, and debris flows is also increasing.

According to the Chinese state-run Global Times on the 11th, the Xinjiang Comprehensive Scientific Exploration Team, composed of Chinese experts, held a press conference in Urumqi, Xinjiang the previous day and announced the results of its investigation.

As a result of the survey, it was found that as of 2020, there are a total of 24,202 glaciers in the Xinjiang region, with a total area of ​​23,629㎢.

Xinjiang is the region with the most glaciers in China.

However, the glacier area is rapidly shrinking due to the effects of global warming.

The area of ​​glaciers lost over the past 30 years from the 1990s to 2020 was calculated to be 2,167㎢.

It is approximately 3.6 times the total area of ​​Seoul (approximately 605㎢).

The main cause of glacier decline was the rise in temperature due to global warming.

Over the past 30 years, temperatures in the Xinjiang region have risen by an average of 0.34 degrees every 10 years.

The researchers reported that this is about 1.7 times the world average and 1.13 times the overall average in China.

Researchers warned that the decline of glaciers could not only affect the local ecosystem but also lead to large-scale natural disasters.

The explanation is that if the amount of river water increases and the stability of the glacier weakens as the glacier melts, the risk of glacier collapse, flooding, and debris flows may increase.

He also said that the area of ​​lakes and wetlands in the Xinjiang region increased by about one-third, partly due to the melting of glaciers.

This survey is a five-year project launched in 2021 led by China's Ministry of Science and Technology, and 46 research institutions across China participated.

Researchers are using satellites and drones to track glacier movement and temperature changes, while also conducting joint research on glacier changes and disaster risks with Central Asian countries.

Recently, a large-scale natural disaster occurred in the Himalayan mountainous region due to a glacier collapse.

On August 26, massive debris flows and flooding triggered by the collapse of glaciers and rocks occurred in the border area between Nepal and China's Tibet Autonomous Region, killing thousands of people in both countries.

China and Nepal recently formed a joint investigation team and began an on-site investigation to determine why the collapse of glaciers and rocks led to large-scale debris flows and floods.