Changing climate on Tibetan plateau (BBC)

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By Dan Griffiths
BBC News, Qinghai

China is one of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases - some say it is already number one. But climate change is also having a huge impact in China, and nowhere more so than on the Tibetan plateau in the far west, thousands of metres above sea level.

Sometimes China can feel like several different countries - all crammed in behind one enormous border.

The province of Qinghai is a land of snow-capped mountains and glaciers, deserts and vast open grasslands. A world away from the big cities of Beijing and Shanghai.

It has a fragile ecosystem - susceptible to the slightest change in climate - and scientists say global warming is already having a major impact here.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6905045.stm