Rapid climate change in China's Qinghai-Tibet plateau could destabilise water supplies and cause more frequent disasters, even though warmer temperatures have improved conditions in the short term, scientists said after an expedition to the region.

The region, which covers much of China's remote northwest and includes the Himalayas, has been identified as one of the country's "ecological security barriers" and is a vital "water tower" regulating flows to eastern, central and southern Asia.

A recent report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on...