Ranwu Lake, the biggest glacier lake in eastern Tibet. (Xinhua)

The Third Pole region of the Earth is witnessing an increase of glacier lakes due to global warming, Chinese scientists have found.

There were 4,602, 4,981 and 5,701 glacier lakes in 1990, 2000 and 2010 respectively in the Third Pole region, which includes the Pamir, Hindu Kush, Himalayan mountains and Tibetan Plateau, according to a study conducted by the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The total area of Third Pole glacier lakes in 2010 was 570 to 790 square km.

The study produced the first glacier lake inventory across the Third Pole, said Zhang Guoqing, one of the researchers.

Glacier lakes showed faster expansion than non-glacier lakes, with glacier meltwater likely playing a dominant role in their rapid expansion between 1990 to 2010, according to the research.

The patterns of glacier lakes correspond well with warming temperature trends, it added. The research provides a basis for the long-term monitoring and evacuation of outburst flood disasters caused by glacier lakes.

Editor: Lucia Su