Chinese scientists have discovered that global warming is melting frozen soil on plateaus in Tibet. Their research indicates that the frozen soil is not as thick as previous measurements.

Nan Zhuotong, director of the Environmental and Engineering Research Institute at China’s Academy of Science pointed out that the global warming effect is the driving force of degeneration of the frozen soil in the last 30 years. The increase in temperature has lead to seasonal decreases of frozen soil and increases in the size of thawing surfaces throughout the region.

The degeneration reportedly first took place at the edge of an island-like frozen land mass. At the same time, the soil’s surface temperature at the central region of massive, permanently frozen land also increased.

Scientists say that the area of the frozen land has decreased by 12 percent, from 160.5 square kilometers in 1975 to 141 square kilometers in 2002. The lowest point of the frozen soil is 4,385 meters (14,361 ft), which is 25 meters higher than in 1975.