Roof of the world melting away?

A 31 year old Tibetan woman at her home in Yellow River township. She has 4 children and once owned 20 cattle and 30 sheep and lived well from the profits of the herd. However, due to the increase in degraded grassland she lost her livelihood and now is dependent on her husband to go out to find odd jobs to support the family. Global warming is already leading to the region drying up.

This desert did not exist 2-3 years ago and has already encroached around 8 kilometres into previously lush grassland.

This desert did not exist 2-3 years ago and has already encroached around 8 kilometres into previously lush grassland.

Yak and sheep bathing at Eling Lake. The water level of Eling Lake has been reduced to a record low. In the past 50 years, the water level was reduced by 3-4 years. The wetlands along the lakes are seriously deteriorating.

A saline deposit is the only evidence left of a small lake in the Star Sea Lake area which completely dried up only 4 years ago in 2001. Greenpeace believes the burning of fossil fuels has contributed to global warming and rapid lake water reduction.

A comparison of Halong Glacier between 1981 and 2005. According to the analysis done by the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the glacier retreated by over 400 metres between 1966 and 2000.