The "roof of the world" has become warmer and wetter over the past five decades, according to the meteorological department of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Thursday.

The annual average temperature in Tibet rose 1.6 degrees Celsius from 1961 to 2012, while annual precipitation climbed 33 mm during the same period, according to the latest figures released by the regional meteorological bureau.

The Tibet climate change monitoring bulletin revealed that, since meteorological records began in Tibet in 1961, the mercury had climbed 0.32 degrees Celsius every decade on average.

Wang Chenghai, a professor at the School of Atmospheric Science of Lanzhou University, said a warmer climate in the cold, drought-prone Qinghai-Tibet Plateau could improve the environment without influencing regional ecological patterns.

With a warmer and wetter climate, the region would be covered with more vegetation and have a more favorable temperature for tourists, Wang added.

Editor: Melinda Jin