Meltwater from the Laohugou No. 12 glacier, flows past one of the faces of the glacier in the Qilian mountains, Subei Mongol Autonomous County in Gansu province, China September 26, 2020. Glaciers in China's bleak, rugged Qilian mountains are disappearing at a shocking rate as global warming brings unpredictable change and raises the prospect of crippling, long-term water shortages, scientists say. The largest glacier in the 800-km (500-mile) mountain chain on the arid northeastern edge of the Tibetan plateau has retreated about 450 metres since the 1950s, when researchers set up China's first monitoring station to study it. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins SEARCH "RAWLINS GLACIER" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES.