A warming climate may reduce health risks of hypoxia on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Every year,millions of people travel to high-elevation regions(≥2500 m above sea level) for sightseeing,mountaineering,trek-king,skiing or commercial and scientific research activities.As the largest and highest plateau of the world,the Qinghai-Tibet Pla-teau (QTP) is one of the most attractive tourist destinations because of its multiple splendid sceneries.High-altitude illnesses occur when the rate of ascent to a high altitude overcomes the abil-ity of the individual to acclimatize.Chronic mountain sickness(CMS) is one of the most important high-altitude pathologies in most high-altitude regions over the world.Its hallmark sign is excessive erythrocytosis.In more advanced and severe stages,high-elevation pulmonary hypertension appears frequently,along with related remodeling of pulmonary arterioles and right ventric-ular hypertrophy [1].In 2017,life expectancies in Tibet and Qing-hai were 69.99 and 73.47 years,respectively,which are 7.19 and 3.71 years lower than China's average of 77.18 years [2].In addi-tion to relatively poor medical conditions,the high-altitude hypoxic environment may play an important role in such dispari-ties in life expectancy.