Estimation on the response of glaciers in China to the global warming in the 21st century

Glaciers in China can be categorized into 3 types, i.e. the maritime (temperate) type, sub-continental (sub-polar) type and extreme continental (polar) type, which take 22%, 46% and 32% of the total existing glacier area (59 406 km²) respectively. Researches indicate that glaciers of the three types show different response patterns to the global warming. Since the Maxima of the Little Ice Age (the 17th century), air temperature has risen at a magnitude of 1.3 ° C on average and the glacier area decreased corresponds to 20% of the present total glacier area in western China. It is estimated that air temperature rise in the 2030s, 2070s and 2100s will be of the order of 0.4–1.2, 1.2–2.7 and 2.1–4.0 K in western China. With these scenarios, glaciers in China will suffer from further shrinkage by 12%, 28% and 45% by the 2030s, 2070s and 2100s. The uncertainties may account for 30%–67% in 2100 in China.