Snow and glacier melting and accumulation are important processes of the hydrological cycle in the cryosphere, e.g., high‐mountain areas. Glaciers and snow cover respond to climate change notably over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) as the Earth's Third Pole where complex topography and lack of ground‐based observations result in knowledge gaps in hydrological processes and large uncertainties in model output. This study develops a snow and glacier melt model for a distributed hydrological model (Coupled Routing and Excess Storage model, CREST) using the Upper Brahmaputra River (UBR) basin in the TP as a case study. Satellite and ground‐based precipitation and land surface temperature are jointly used as model forcing. A progressive two‐stage calibration strategy is developed to derive model parameters, i.e., (1) snow melting processes (stage I) and (2) glacier melting and runoff generation and routing using multisource data (stage II). Stage‐I calibration is performed using the MODIS snow cover area (SCA) product and a blending snow water equivalent (SWE) product combined with partial in situ measurements. Stage‐II calibration is based on Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite‐derived total water storage (TWS) changes and streamflow observed at a gauging station of the lower reach of the UBR. Results indicate that the developed two‐stage calibration method provides more reliable streamflow, snow (both SCA and SWE), and TWS change simulations against corresponding observations than commonly used methods based on streamflow and/or SCA performance. The simulated TWS time series shows high consistency with GRACE counterparts for the study period 2003–2014, and overestimated melting rates and contributions of glacier meltwater to runoff in previous studies are improved to some degree by the developed model and calibration strategy. Snow and glacier runoff contributed 10.6% and 9.9% to the total runoff, and the depletion rate of glacier mass was ∼ −10 mm/a (∼ −2.4 Gt/a, Gt/a is gigaton (km3 of water) per year) over the UBR basin during the study period. This study is valuable in examining the impacts of climate change on hydrological processes of cryospheric regions and providing an improved approach for simulating more reliable hydrological variables over the UBR basin and potentially similar regions globally.

Based on mosaics of composite radar reflectivity patterns during the 2-yr period of 2008–09, a total of 96 squall lines were identified in east China with a maximum frequency of occurrence in north China near the boundaries between Shandong, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu Provinces. The squall lines form from March to October with a peak in July. Their diurnal variation shows a major peak in the early evening and two minor peaks in the early morning and early afternoon. The time between squall-line formation and the first echo is about 4.8 h. The squall lines have a dominant southwest–northeast orientation, an eastward motion at a speed of 14.4 m s−1, a maximum length of 243 km, a maximum intensity of 58–63 dBZ, and a duration of 4.7 h on average. The squall lines commonly form in a broken-line mode, display a trailing-stratiform pattern, and dissipate in a reversed broken-line mode. Composite rawinsonde analyses show that squall lines in midlatitude east China tend to form in a moister environment with comparable background instability, and weaker vertical shear relative to their U.S. counterparts. The rawinsondes were also composited with respect to different formation and organizational modes. The environmental flows of the squall lines in the area with high frequency of formation were classified into six synoptic weather patterns: pre–short trough, pre–long trough, cold vortex, subtropical high, tropical cyclone (TC), and posttrough. About one-third of the squall lines form in the dominant pre-short-trough pattern. Favorable conditions of various patterns were examined in terms of moisture supply, instability, vertical wind shear, low-level jet, etc.

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The 2303 Wetlands of International Importance distribute unevenly in different continents. Europe owns the largest number of sites, while Africa has the largest area of sites. More than half of the sites are affected by three or four impact factors (55%). The most significant impact factors are pollution (54%), biological resources use (53%), natural system modification (53%), and agriculture and aquaculture (42%). The main affected objects are land area and environment of the wetlands, occurred in 75% and 69% of the sites, respectively. The types most affected by land area occupation are river wetlands and lake wetlands, the types with the greatest impact on environment are marine/coastal wetlands and river wetlands, the type with the greatest impact on biodiversity is river wetlands, the types most affected by water resources regulation are marsh wetlands and river wetlands, and the types most affected by climate change are lake wetlands and marine/coastal wetlands. About one-third of the wetland sites have been artificially reconstructed. However, it is found that the proportions of natural wetland sites not affected or affected by only one factor are generally higher than that of wetland sites both containing natural wetlands and human-made wetlands, while the proportions of wetland sites both containing natural wetlands and human-made wetlands affected by three or four factors are generally higher than that of natural wetland sites. Wetland sites in the UK and Ireland are least affected among all countries. Wetland management plans in different regions still have large space for improvement, especially in Africa and Asia. The protection and restoration of global wetlands can be carried out in five aspects, including management and policy, monitoring, restoration, knowledge, and funding.