Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

DARK SECRETS: Tibetan plateau | Vintage Vibes

How heat on the Tibetan Plateau fuels powerful storms in California, half a world away

The Tibetan Plateau may be on the other side of the world from California, but what happens on this high-altitude landscape in Asia can set off a chain of events that fuels powerful atmospheric rivers with flooding rainfall and heavy snow hitting the U.S. West Coast.

The Conversation · Sep 10

Is China behind California’s 2017 catastrophic rain? New study finds a surprising 'climate teleconnection' linking the Rocky Mountains and Tibetan Plateau

Is China behind California’s 2017 catastrophic rain? Recent studies indicate that unusually warm temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau have a direct correlation with extreme rainfall occurrences in California. This climatic teleconnection plays a crucial role in the formation of atmospheric rivers along the Pacific Coast. By linking distant warming patterns…

The Economic Times · Sep 10

World's highest frozen lake shatters along disputed border between China and India ‪—‬ Earth from space

A 2024 astronaut photo shows the icy surface of Pangong Lake breaking apart in the lofty Tibetan Plateau. The point where the ice meets the water almost perfectly matches a disputed border between China and India.

LiveScience · Aug 4

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Shapeshifting 'braided river' in Tibet is the highest in the world, and is becoming increasingly unstable — Earth from space

A 2025 satellite photo shows a particularly complex section of the Yarlung Zangbo River as it twists its way through the Tibetan Plateau. This part of the "braided" waterway has experienced drastic visual changes over recent decades, which could soon be accentuated by climate change.

LiveScience · Oct 14, 2025

The geology that holds up the Himalayas is not what we thought, scientists discover

A 100-year-old theory explaining how Asia can carry the huge weight of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau needs to be rewritten, a new study suggests.

LiveScience · Aug 30, 2025

Indian Continental Plate potentially splitting in two, study suggests

A new study suggests that the Indian Continental Plate could be splitting in two, leading to changes in the formation of the Tibetan Plateau.

How milk tamed the Third Pole: research reveals a 3,500-year history of dairy consumption on the Tibetan Plateau

It’s not called the Third Pole for nothing. The Tibetan Plateau forms the major portion of a vast upland area of ice and glaciers that covers some 100,000 square kilometres of Earth’s surface.

The Conversation · Apr 12, 2023

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Earthquake in China’s Sichuan Kills 21, Shakes Provincial Capital

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck China's Sichuan province on Monday, the strongest to hit the region since 2017, killing at least 21 people and shaking the provincial capital of Chengdu and more distant provinces. Some roads and homes near the epicenter were damaged by landslides, while communications were down in…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Sep 5, 2022

Half of China Hit by Drought in Worst Heatwave on Record

A crippling drought exacerbated by a record heat wave has spread out across half of China and reached the normally frigid Tibetan Plateau, according to official data released ahead of more searing temperatures on Thursday. The world's second-largest economy has been hit by heatwaves, flash floods and droughts -- phenomena…

Asharq Al-Awsat · Aug 25, 2022

Coverage From

People

Adam Smith

412 stories

From analysis to the latest developments in health,
read the most diverse news in one place.

Organisations

Read news from The Economist, FT, and more,
with one subscription

Topics

Places

Fourteen days free

Download the app

One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.