CollectHomepage AdvertisementContact usMessage

Arid Land Geography ›› 2002, Vol. 25 ›› Issue (3): 194-200.doi: 10.13826/j.cnki.cn65-1103/x.2002.03.001

Previous Articles     Next Articles

A STUDY ON SIGNALS AND EFFECTS OF CLIMATIC PATTERN CHANGE FROM WARM-DRY TO WARM-WET IN XINJIANG

HU Ru-ji, JIANG Feng-qing, WANG Ya-jun, FANG Zi-li   

  1. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2002-06-20 Revised:2002-08-09 Published:2025-12-31

Abstract: Located in inland and far from ocean, Xinjiang is famous for its vast deserts. The ecological environment here is extremely fragile owing to the aridity. Therefore, it is recognized that Xinjiang is a sensitive and affected area to global warming. Since the late of 19 century, the little ice age ended, a warming trend corresponding to global warming was taking place in Xinjiang. The water circulation has been quickening as the increasing of evaporation and precipitation in the world, especially in the arid land, during the process of global warming. Generally, the climatic condition was in the state of warm-dry in this area. Since 1987, however, some signals of climatic pattern change from warm-dry to warm-wet have been occurring in Xinjiang, especially in the western Tianshan Mountains of China. The precipitation, melting water of snow and ice, river discharges have been increasing. The water levels of plain lakes rise successively and their areas enlarge yearly. Even several dried up lakes are revived. At the same time, the flood disasters occur continuously and the damages become larger and larger. The discharges of flood peaks reach to the highest in a century even centuries. During the period, desertification ceases to enlarge and days of sandstorm decrease owing to the improvement of the environment and the increasing of the vegetation. The oases are full of the beauty of spring. However, special attention should be paid to the future perspectives of this climatic pattern change, an issue that is directly related to the economic development, the hydrological infrastructure construction, the flood and drought disaster reduction, the eco-environmental protection and the living standard improvement. Therefore, some further observation and deep researches must be conducted in order that correct prevision can be made out as early as possible and scientific basis can be put forward for the long range plan of the national economy.

Key words: Xinjiang, climatic pattern change, warm-dry, warm-wet

CLC Number: 

  • P467