Lanzhou: The number of glacial lakes in the Himalayas has reduced in recent years, but their total area has increased, a research revealed here on Tuesday.

Wang Xin is heading a 30-year study on the subject organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hunan University of Science and Technology.

Wang said glacial lakes were formed by melted glaciers. Therefore, the study might help scientists better understand relations among glaciers, glacial lakes and weather conditions at high altitudes, as well as dangers of lakes bursting their banks.

The research confirmed that 1,680 glacial lakes are existing in the Chinese side of the Himalayas region at present. They cover an area of 215.28 square km, 58.96 square km larger than that three decades ago.

There had been as many as 1,750 glacial lakes in the surveyed region for the past three decades, during which 294 ones disappeared and 224 were formed.