China's Qinghai Lake water level up by 1.3 meters compared to 10-year average

The annual average water level of Qinghai Lake, China's largest inland saltwater lake, was 3196.6 meters in 2023, up by 1.3 meters compared to the average of the past 10-year period.

The finding was published in a report titled "Ecological Meteorological Bulletin of the Qinghai Lake Basin (2023)" by Qinghai Provincial Meteorological Bureau and the Qinghai Lake Scenic Area Protection and Utilization Administration. The research, based on ground meteorological data and satellite remote sensing data, assessed the ecological climate, water resources, ice and snow resources, grassland vegetation, among other details in the Qinghai Lake basin for the year 2023.

Qinghai Lake is located approximately 150 kilometers away from the provincial capital of Xining in northwest China's Qinghai Province. Covering an area of more than 4,600 square kilometers, the lake's surface lies at an altitude of about 3,200 meters, with an average depth of 18 meters and a shoreline extending about 360 kilometers. Nestled in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, Qinghai Lake has been dubbed the "Most Beautiful Lake in China."

According to the bulletin, compared to the ten-year average, the annual precipitation in the Qinghai Lake basin in 2023 was 7.0 percent lower; the average annual temperature was 0.1°C higher; the sunshine duration was 5.4 percent shorter; and the water retention index stood at 184.8, an increase of 25.5. In September, the high-water period, the lake area was 4622.0 square kilometers, 2.2 percent larger than the ten-year average.

This is the second consecutive year that local authorities have released an ecological meteorological bulletin for the Qinghai Lake basin amid ongoing ecological protection efforts and the establishment of a national park there.

Experts say the release of the meteorological bulletin will provide scientific support in the field of ecological meteorology for the establishment of the Qinghai Lake National Park.