page_title: Urumqi Glacier No.1
hierarchical_section_title: Urumqi Glacier No.1
caption_attribution_description: English: Urumqi Glacier No. 1 Annual Mass Balance
context_page_description: Urumqi Glacier No.1 or Urumqi River Glacier No.1, Tianshan Glacier No.1, is the glacier closest to an urban area in the world, located only 120 km southwest to downtown Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. As a major source of the Urumqi River, Glacier No.1 lies in the north slope of Tiangeer II Peak in the middle section of Tian Shan and it is within Ürümqi County.
  Tianshan Glaciological Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences started observing the glacier change of the glacier since 1959, giving it longer observation history and records than any other glacier in China. Ever since then, the glacier has been continuously retreating. Due to its constant recession, the glacier has been separated into two branches in 1993. The glacier is one of the 'reference glaciers' for mass balance of the World Glacier Monitoring Service. In 2019, researchers estimated that the glacier will have disappeared in the next 50 years.
  Since 2017, a natural reserve covering an area of 950 km² has been set up by the Regional Government of Xinjiang to protect Glacier No.1. Besides, tourism surrounding the glacier was banned by the Regional government during the 13th 5-year Plan.
context_section_description: Urumqi Glacier No.1 (Chinese: 乌鲁木齐1号冰川 or 乌鲁木齐一号冰川) or Urumqi River Glacier No.1 (Chinese: 乌鲁木齐河1号冰川 or 乌鲁木齐河一号冰川), Tianshan Glacier No.1 (Chinese: 天山1号冰川 or 天山一号冰川), is the glacier closest to an urban area in the world, located only 120 km southwest to downtown Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. As a major source of the Urumqi River, Glacier No.1 lies in the north slope of Tiangeer II Peak in the middle section of Tian Shan and it is within Ürümqi County.
  Tianshan Glaciological Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences started observing the glacier change of the glacier since 1959, giving it longer observation history and records than any other glacier in China. Ever since then, the glacier has been continuously retreating. Due to its constant recession, the glacier has been separated into two branches in 1993. The glacier is one of the 'reference glaciers' for mass balance of the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS).  In 2019, researchers estimated that the glacier will have disappeared in the next 50 years.
  Since 2017, a natural reserve covering an area of 950 km² (370 sq mi) has been set up by the Regional Government of Xinjiang to protect Glacier No.1. Besides, tourism surrounding the glacier was banned by the Regional government during the 13th 5-year Plan (2016-2020).
caption: The annual mass balance of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, according to WGMS.
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