The area of Qinghai Lake, China's largest salt lake, reached 4,432.69 square km during the dry season, an expansion of 7.31 square km compared with last year.
Qinghai Lake - China's largest inland saltwater lake - completely froze over in late January, two weeks later than normal. Experts said the delay signals the growing effect of global warming on the fragile ecosystem of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.