Integrated Assessments of Meteorological Hazards across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China

Shao Sun, Qiang Zhang, Yuanxin Xu and Ruyue Yuan
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Shao Sun: Laboratory for Climate Studies, National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100081, China
Qiang Zhang: Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disasters, Ministry of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Yuanxin Xu: Key Laboratory of Drought-Flood Disasters in Plateau and Basin of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Climate Center, Chengdu 610072, China
Ruyue Yuan: Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disasters, Ministry of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: Recent decades have witnessed accelerated climate changes across the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and elevated socioeconomic exposure to meteorological hazards. The QTP is called the “the third pole”, exerting remarkable impact on environmental changes in its surrounding regions. While few reports are available for addressing multi-hazard risks over the QTP, we develop an integrated indicator system involving multiple meteorological hazards, i.e., droughts, rainstorms, snowstorms and hailstorms, investigating the spatiotemporal patterns of major hazards over the QTP. The hazard zones of droughts and rainstorms are identified in the southern Gangdise Mountains, the South Tibet Valley, the eastern Nyenchen-Tanglha Mountains, the Hengduan Mountains and West Sichuan Basin. Snowstorm hazard zones distribute in the Himalayas, the Bayan Har Mountains and the central Nyenchen-Tanglha Mountains, while hailstorm hazard zones cluster in central part of the QTP. Since the 21st century, intensified rainstorms are detectable in the densely populated cities of Xining and Lhasa and their adjacent areas, while amplified droughts are observed in grain production areas of the South Tibet Valley and the Hengduan Mountains. Snowstorm hazards show large interannual variations and an increase in pastoral areas, although the overall trend is declining slightly. The frequency of hailstorms gradually decreases in human settlements due to thermal and landscape effects. Mapping meteorological hazards regionalization could help to understand climate risks in the QTP, and provide scientific reference for human adaptation to climate changes in highly sensitive areas.

Keywords: meteorological hazards; risk assessment; spatial pattern; population exposure; Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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