Orange Tints on Gilded Hills
The Tibetan Plateau is a large grassland region to the North West of China. With its minimal precipitation and high elevation this harsh landscape is home to an ancient people who maintain their nomadic traditions despite the rapid urban developments of nearby Chinese cities. Containing tens of thousands of glaciers, the Tibetan Plateau is acutely sensitive to the impact of global warming and yet it sits on the edge of one of the most polluted areas of the planet. This 30,000-year-old tradition of nomadic life begins to look increasingly precarious. As temperatures rise the plateau’s fragile ecosystem is coming under great stress and vast grasslands are rendered to dust as desertification sweeps across the plains. This series studies both the effects of climate change on the region’s landscape and people, as well as the survival of Buddhist traditions.