GREENPEACE'S WAKE UP CALL! : *WORLD AND CHINA*

GLACIER melt at major sites in western China is accelerating fast, Greenpeace said on Tuesday, prompting thousands to evacuate in recent months  underscoring the vulnerability to climate change in a ''wake up call'' for the world.

Satellite analysis showed that the rate of retreat at glaciers in China's remote western regions had more than doubled,  Greenpeace said, with the annual rate at  Tianshan Glacier  No. 1 in Xinjang rising from an average of  5,000  square metres between 1962 and 1986 to  10,600 square metres between 1986 and this year.

''This is a wake up call for China and the world,'' said Greenpeace's climate and energy campaigner Liu Junyan.

''Glaciers in China supply water to 1.8 billion people, and they are melting, fast. In just the last few months, thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes due to threats of flooding.''  [Agencies].