Glaciers on Tibetan Plateau Shrink 24% in 60 Years—7,000 Gone, Warns Top Climate Official

Glaciers on Tibetan Plateau Shrink 24% in 60 Years—7,000 Gone, Warns Top Climate Official

A senior Chinese climate official has warned that glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau are becoming dangerously unstable after shrinking by around 24% over the past 60 years, with roughly 7,000 small glaciers disappearing completely—raising the risk of sudden collapses, landslides, and flash floods across the region.

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The warning comes as rescue teams continue searching for survivors after last week’s catastrophic landslide and flood along the China-Nepal border, which buried parts of a village and killed dozens [233840]. Gao Rong, deputy director of China’s National Climate Centre, said that as glaciers melt, the remaining ice becomes more fragile, triggering sudden ice falls that can block rivers and cause deadly flash floods downstream—events that often strike without warning [233840].

Scientists note that the Tibetan Plateau, often called the “Third Pole” because it holds the largest store of ice outside the polar regions, is warming faster than the global average [233840]. The retreating ice is expected to increase the frequency of landslides, glacial lake outburst floods, and debris flows in the coming years [233840].

The melting is part of a broader pattern of accelerating climate change. A new UN report confirms that the world is now set to warm by at least 1.8°C above pre-industrial levels, even under the most optimistic scenarios—overshooting the 1.5°C target set by the Paris Agreement [232960]. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) states that staying within 1.5°C is now “unavoidably” out of reach, and every additional fraction of a degree will intensify extreme weather, accelerate glacier melt, and drive ecosystem loss [232960][233595].

The UN has shifted its strategy from prevention to what officials call an “overshoot and reduce” approach, focusing on bringing temperatures down after they peak rather than stopping the rise altogether [233595]. While deep, rapid emissions cuts—combined with removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere—could still bring global temperatures back to 1.5°C by the end of the century, the report warns there are “no good outcomes” from current trajectories [232960].

Gao urged regional governments to strengthen monitoring systems and prepare early-warning plans for vulnerable valleys, saying: “We cannot stop the glaciers from melting, but we can improve how we respond to the dangers they leave behind” [233840].

Sources

Tibetan Plateau Glaciers Shrinking Fast, Warns Top Climate Official #233840Global heating will hit at least 1.8C, UN warns—1.5C goal ‘unavoidably’ missed. #232960UN Climate Goal Dead: UN Admits 1.5°C Limit Fails, Unveils Plan B #233595UN admits: Worst climate impacts now unavoidable #233507UN Climate Body Admits 1.5°C Limit Will Be Breached #233240**UN Report: World Will Miss 1.5°C Climate Target** #233721

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