Chinese Glaciologist Awarded 2013 Volvo Environment Prize

Chinese glaciologist and climate scientist Qin Dahe has been awarded this year’s Volvo Environment Prize.

Asian Scientist (Dec. 6, 2013) – Chinese glaciologist and climate scientist Qin Dahe has been awarded this year’s Volvo Environment Prize for his work in showing a connection between climate change and extreme weather conditions.

The Volvo Environment Prize was founded in 1988 and has become one of the world’s most prestigious environmental prizes. It is awarded annually to people who have made outstanding scientific discoveries within the area of the environment and sustainable development.

Dr Qin is a glaciologist at the Cold and Arid Regions Environment and Engineering Institute in Lanzhou, China and previously headed the China Meteorological Administration. He is a key contributor to the fifth assessment report from the UN climate panel, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), whose first section, the “Physical Science Basis”, was released in September this year.

Dr Qin also had a leading role in last year’s special report from IPCC on extreme events and catastrophes. It was the first report to show scientifically what many had already suspected, that extreme weather and climate phenomena have become more frequent over the last 50 years.

The findings from the report gained wide currency since they showed a clear connection between climate change and periods of extreme conditions, such as extended droughts and heat waves, but also torrential storms and rain in other regions. In its citation for this year’s Volvo Environment Prize laureate, the Award Jury calls the report “a game-changer”.

In the words of the Jury, “the report demonstrated for the first time a clear link between climate change and many extreme events, an issue of immediate relevance for human well-being in many parts of the world”.

Dr Qin is also a leading expert on the cryosphere in central high Asia. The cryosphere is one of the main components of the Earth’s climate system, comprising snow, river and lake ice sea ice, glaciers, ice shelves, and frozen ground.

The study of the cryosphere in central Asia is especially important as glaciers may impact water resources and ecosystems that supply more than two billion people in Asia. Dr Qin has himself led several scientific expeditions to the Himalayas, and also been on expeditions to the Antarctic.

Dr Qin hopes that the scientific evidence presented in the fifth assessment report from the UN climate panel will lead to a breakthrough in global climate negotiations.

“There is an encouragingly fast development in climate models. We are now seeing much smaller discrepancies between prognoses and what we observe in the form of temperatures and carbon dioxide concentration. My hope is that the scientific evidence will prompt people all over the world to work together to reduce emissions,” he said.

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Source: Volvo Environment Prize Foundation. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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