New proofs of the recent climate warming over the Tibetan Plateau as a result of the increasing greenhouse gases emissions

The Tibetan Plateau (TP, 75-105oE, 27.5-37.5oN) is the highest and largest highland in the world with a variety of climate and ecosystems. The TP exerts pro- found influences not only on the local climate and en- vironment but also on the global atmospher…

New proofs of the recent climate warming over the Tibetan Plateau as a result of the increasing greenhouse gases emissions

A striking climate warming over the Ti- betan Plateau during the last decades has been re- vealed by many studies, but evidence linking it to human activity is insufficient. By using historical ob- servations, here we show that the in situ climate warming is accompanied by a distinct decreasing trend of the diurnal range of surface air temperature. The ERA40 reanalysis further indicates that there seems to be a coherent warming trend near the tro- popause but a cooling trend in the lower stratosphere. Moreover, all these features can be reproduced in two coupled climate models forced by observed CO2 concentration of the 20th century but cannot be pro- duced by the fixed external conditions before the industrial revolution. These suggest that the recent climate warming over the Tibetan Plateau primarily results from the increasing anthropogenic green- house gases emissions, and impacts of the increased greenhouse gases emissions upon the climate change in the plateau are probably more serious than the rest of the world.