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XINING, March 6 (Xinhua) -- The water level of China's largest inland saltwater lake has risen over the past decade due to abundant rainfall and rising temperatures, a recent survey showed.
The average annual water level at the hydrological station at Qinghai Lake, in northwest China's Qinghai Province, rose 1.66 meters over the last ten years.
The rising water level is the result of increased precipitation and meltwater from nearby glaciers and highland snow, according to Dai Sheng, an engineer with the provincial climate center.
Average annual precipitation reached 421.8 millimeters between 2005 and 2016, up about 2 percent from 358.8 millimeters between 1961 and 2004, Dai said, adding that an improved ecosystem and vegetation also helped maintain water in the Qinghai Lake basin.
The surface area of Qinghai Lake also expanded to 4,429.3 square km in September 2016, an increase of 169.7 square km from the same period in 2004, according to a geographical survey in the province.
Qinghai Lake plays an important role in the ecological security of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The lake had been shrinking since the 1950s, but the combined effects of conservation and changes in the regional climate turned things around in 2005.
