The Tibetan plateau, home to the third largest store of ice, is highly vulnerable to climate change, researchers say.

They have warned that over two-thirds of the glaciers could disappear by 2050.

Tibet is experiencing the negative effects of climate change. Researchers of the central Tibetan Administration (CTA) say that every 10 years, the temperature rises 0.3 degrees approximately.
In the past 50 years, the temperature has increased by 1.3 degrees Celsius, three times the global average, they said.

Due to large scale mining, desertification, and reducing forest cover, the ecosystem of Tibet is under threat. The plateau influences the onset of the Asian monsoon.

Ahead of the UN climate talks in Paris next month, CTA head Lobsang Sangay said the world leaders should call Tibet, the third Pole as it stores the most ice and water after the Arctic and Antarctic.

The construction of too many dams contribute to the release of greenhouse gases and climate change. Sangay said China has made dams on every major river and its tributaries in Tibet.

As an example, he said that by China's own estimates, 80% of Tibet's forests, a total of 25.2 million hectares, have been destroyed.

Tibetan spiritual leader and Nobel laureate the Dalai Lama has said "the blue planet" of his homeland Tibet is currently vulnerable to climate change.

"At the current rate, two-thirds of the glaciers will be gone by 2050," the CTA said.

In Tibet more than 50% of the total area is covered by grasslands.

"10% of the permafrost has degraded in the past decade. Its degradation would lead to a huge amount of carbon entering the atmosphere, resulting in global warming," a CTA researcher said.

The Roof of the World, aka Tibet, is facing desertification, turning into deserts at the rate of 2,300 sq km per year, as quoted in UNDP reports.

"Solutions to the climate change crisis in Tibet exist. We want to recognize the global significance of the Tibetan plateau for the overall environmental health of the universe," Dicki Chhoyang, CTA's head, said.

The Dalai Lama is living in India since fleeing his homeland in 1959 after the Chinese invaded Tibet.