Tibetan plateau serves as a water tower

Mountains form a barrier to incoming air masses, and the air cool and precipitation is triggered forced to rise, which is known its the orographic effect. Mountain waters captured at high altitudes are carried under gravity via the stream network or groundwater aquifiers to the lowlands, where the water demand from population centers, agriculture and industry is high. From this point, we can consider the mountain as water tower. With high elevation and cold temperatures, mountains have the capacity to store precipitation in solid form as snow and ice. During the summer or dry season, when temperatures rise.. melt water is released precisely at the time when precipitation is at a minimum and water demand, particularly for irrigation, is at a maximum.