LHASA: The average annual temperature in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region is rising at a speed of 0.3 C every 10 years, which is higher than the average growth rate in the country and world, a latest research shows.

The report, "Tibet's Climate under the Global Warming Trend", carried out by the Tibet Meteorological Bureau, said the increasing temperatures were most obvious in the western part of the region.

Tibet, with its glaciers and high altitude, is considered to be sensitive to the effects of global warming.

"The regional climate shows a warming trend under the global warming background," said Zhang Hezhen, a senior engineer with the bureau.

Last winter, average temperatures in different parts of Tibet were 0.5-2.8 C higher than in normal years. The whole region's average temperature was 1.6 C higher than last winter.

The region's average temperature in the winters of 2006 and 2001 was 3.0 and 1.7 C higher than normal years. Four of the five warmest winters in the past 35 years in Tibet occurred after 2000.

Xinhua

(China Daily 07/23/2007 page2)