Local changes in snow depth dominate the evolving pattern of elevation-dependent warming on the Tibetan Plateau

Climate change is having disproportionate impacts on the Tibetan plateau. Elevation-dependent- warming (EDW), faster warming in high mountains, poses an enhanced threat to life-supporting snow/ice reserves above 5000 m. Past studies debate how EDW is caused, and cannot predict how it will change in future. This study, for the first time, shows that the amplitude of regional warming determines the pattern of EDW, and that changing elevation gradients in snow depth over time have been responsible. Snow loss at increasingly higher elevations moves the zone of enhanced impact uphill, probably continuing in future. Our results explain the divergence in previous studies about causes of EDW, and also have critical implications for longer-term sustainability of water resources on the Tibetan Plateau.