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Story October 11, 2013

Sean Gallagher's "Meltdown" Photos Show China's Environment in Crisis

Country:

China

Author:

Sean Gallagher
Grantee

English

Rising temperatures on the Tibetan Plateau in western China are causing melting glaciers and...

Sean Gallagher
Grantee

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British photographer Sean Gallagher spent the past seven years casting the spotlight on China's environmental crises. Here, a man walks over rocks near to a glacial lake that has formed at the base of the Dagu Glacier on the southeast edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The glacier has been reducing in size in recent years, as a resulting of rising temperatures in the region. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

Mr. Gallagher has compiled his images into an e-book,'Meltdown: China's Environment Crisis,' published by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Shown here, a man swims in Dongting Lake, in Hunan Province. Dongting Lake has decreased in size in recent decades as a result of land reclamation and damming of the Yangtze River. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A sheep grazes on dry and degraded land in Inner Mongolia. Mr. Gallagher's investigative trips have taken him from the streets of Beijing, where he has been based since 2006, to the grasslands of Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang provinces. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

Fish swim in a turquoise pool of water in Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan Province. The area was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A symbol of the conservation movement, the giant panda is actually a threatened species. Much of its natural habitat, the forest of southwest China, has been destroyed. The panda shown here was photographed in the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center, in Sichuan Province. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A man walks amongst sand dunes in the Tengger desert in Ningxia Province. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A Chinese construction team at the side of a road on the Tibetan Plateau. China's 'western development strategy' is seeing a push to bring an improved infrastructure to the region. Many worry it will lead to a slow disappearance of local Tibetan culture. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

Severe pollution in a waterway in the Tibetan town of Donda, in China's western Qinghai Province. Little education is given to the locals about how to dispose of waste. Failure by the authorities to collect refuse has led to the contamination of many urban water resources. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A farmer drives a tractor through dry, degraded farmland in northern China. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

The Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) at the Anhui Research Center for Alligator Reproduction in Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. Only 120 of these creatures remain in the wild in China as a result of wetlands reclamation. Xuancheng City, Anhui Province. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

Human remains lie in the ancient city of Yinpan, in China's western Xinjiang Province. The city was abandoned nearly two thousand years ago when the local water supply dried up and the nearby route of the Silk Road changed. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A Tibetan monk walks through a snowstorm in August. Snowstorms are rare at this time of year on the Tibetan Plateau, but more extreme weather is occurring at unexpected times. Mr. Gallagher said the effects of climate change in the area left a deep impression on him, thanks to his encounters with the nomads who live there. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A Tibetan pilgrim prostrates himself during a pilgrimage to Lhasa. Behind him, a truck passes along one of the region's main highways, still under construction, hence the huge clouds of dust. The highway is being renovated as part of the government's 'western development strategy,' aimed at bringing improved infrastructure to the poorer west of the country. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A man pushes his bike through a sandstorm in Ningxia Province. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

A contaminated pool of water by the side of one of the major highways that runs through the northeastern region of the Tibetan Plateau. Development in the region is having severe environmental consequences. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

Air pollution obscures the view from Coal Hill in central Beijing, China. This photo was taken in January last year. Image by Sean Gallagher. China, 2012.

Sean Gallagher has spent the past seven years photographing climate change in China. The slideshow above shows the Tibetan Plateau, which covers approximately 25 percent of China's surface area, spreading out over 2.5 million sq. km in the west of the country. Temperatures are rising on the Tibetan Plateau faster than anywhere else in Asia.

Through his photographs, Gallagher is able to highlight the major challenges associated with climate change and the resulting social issues that have appeared in recent years.