Sapphire lakes have recently dotted the Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after seasonal rains, creating breathtaking scenery. Meteorologists, however, take this as a warning from nature.
The Taklimakan, which stretches across Bayingol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture as well as the Aksu, Kashgar and Hotan prefectures, is China's largest desert. It's known as the "Sea of Death" because of its harsh environment. With an extremely hot and dry climate, the average annual precipitation is less than 100 millimeters, while the evaporation rate is as high as 2,500 to 3,500 millimeters.
Taklimakan Desert, China's largest desert. /VCG
Why are there lakes in such a dry environment?
"Increased glacial melting caused by warmer temperatures in the region, coupled with increased rainfall, causes the Tarim River and its tributaries, which are close to the desert, to rise and overflow into the desert," said Hu Xiao, chief meteorological analyst at Weather China. "The water flows down to the low-lying areas in the desert, forming numerous of ponds and lakes."
This year, precipitation in the middle and upper reaches of the Tarim River was generally higher than in previous years. Situated along the middle and upper reaches, Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture saw a rare rainstorm in early May, with rainfall of up to 58.8 millimeters in one day, close to the average annual rainfall in Xinjiang.
However, floods and heavy rains have not been uncommon in recent years. Last July, overflowing rivers flooded more than 300 square kilometers of the desert. What's more, from 2011 to 2020, compared with the 1960s, daily total rainfall in southern Xinjiang, where the Taklimakan is located, increased by 113.3 percent while the number of heavy rain days increased by 94.4 percent, according to the China Meteorological Administration.
While marveling at the beauty of lakes in the desert, we should also be aware of the problems behind it, Hu suggests. "In the context of global warming, the melting of glaciers is accelerating, and the flow of inland rivers like the Tarim River will change significantly."
Taklimakan Desert, China's largest desert. /VCG
Will the Taklimakan become an oasis?
"At present, it is impossible for the desert to become an oasis. Increased rainfall is a weather event that is episodic but not a regular feature of the climate," said Hu.
(Cover image is a screenshot from the video; Gao Mingkun also contributed to the article.)
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