Global warming has brought evident climate changes to Tibet's Tingri and Gyangze counties, home to Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest), according to a recent survey on climate changes in the area near the Himalayas.

Experts say that Tibet's west, particularly Tingri and Gyangze, is very vulnerable to global warming.

Meteorological statistics show that the annual average temperature in Tingri County rose by 2.6 degrees Celsius from 1971 to 1992, 1.7 degrees more than the temperature rise from 1960 to 1967.

The annual average temperature registered an increasing rise in recent years, with a 3.3-degree rise in temperature from 1998 to 2002.

Global warming also has changed the precipitation and humidity in the area.

Apart from global warming, sparse vegetation and excessive grazing are also blamed for the climate changes in the area.

Experts are urged to establish satellite remote-sensing observatory in the area to observe vegetation, surface temperature, hydrology, climate and environment.

Due to global warming, the area of Tibet's permafrost, a layer of soil that remains frozen year-round, has also shrunk by more than 10 percent during the last two decades.