In the 1950s and 60s, the population in China was increasing rapidly, so the Chinese government needed to look for ways to manage enough food for a growing nation. To grow crops, water is the bymost important thing, and the Chinese officials' idea to get water  was....MELTING GLACIERS. Their target area was the Northern Province of Xinjiang, home to several nomadic tribes from Middle Asia. They attempted to get water by making holes in the mountain glaciers and letting waters flow. This project was done in such a massive scale that it began to lay burden on the inhabitants.

Nomadic people who make their living by grazing their livestock in the plains of Xinjiang, feels the climate change that is directly effecting their lives. Winter used to be long and harsh, but it is now short and not very cold. Chinese scientists found out that glaciers in Xinjiang are retreating 8 to 10 centimeters each year. The peak of the mountains used to have snow even in the summer, but now it is raining even in the winter. There are more avalanches, and the snows and glaciers are turning black because of diesel engines. The glaciers in Xinjiang are not expected to last very long.

If glaciers melt, the supply of water can increase for a few years, but after that, severe droughts may come.

The region is called "the 3rd pole" because the region possesses (possessed, to be strict) an affluent amount of glaciers . But dramatic changes took place in the last few centuries, and this 3rd pole is under serious danger.