Warming-induced monsoon precipitation phase change intensifies glacier mass loss in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Abstract
Rapid mass loss of glaciers in High Mountain Asia has large consequences for downstream water supply and glacier-related hazards. Glaciers in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau are experiencing the highest mass loss rates within Asia, despite the limited impact of recent warming on their spring accumulation regime. Based on model simulations reconstructing the climate and glacier evolution of the last 45 y, we show that the recent acceleration in observed glacier mass loss was effected by a warming-induced shift from snowfall to rainfall during the monsoon months, exacerbated by decreasing monsoon precipitation since the 2000s and only partly mitigated by increasing spring precipitation. Our results reveal the processes behind the high sensitivity to climate warming for glaciers in this region.