Tibetan Plateau grows warmer, more humid: report

China's Tibetan Plateau was warmer in the past five decades than any period in the past 2,000 years, and it will get hotter and more humid in the decades to come, new research showed Wednesday.

The Tibetan Plateau, which sits at an average elevation of more than 4,500 meters, will become warmer and more humid over the course of the 21st century, said a report published by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The report said the plateau's ecosystem has been improving overall as both the temperate zone and forest coverage are expanding, while the degradation of wetland has eased since 2000.

However, the report predicted that permafrost coverage on the plateau, which is mainly located in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, will continue to shrink and desertification will get worse in areas.

Risks of natural disasters, including landslides and torrential floods, will increase on the plateau due to a warmer climate and increased human activities, according to the report.

The report said that the Tibetan regional government should work to reduce the negative impact of human activities on the environment and enhance its capability to predict disasters.