STOCKHOLM - Chinese scientist Yao Tandong received the 2017 Vega Medal in Stockholm on Wednesday, for his contribution to research on glaciers and the environment on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf gave the award to Yao at the Royal Palace of Stockholm and congratulated him personally for his outstanding achievements.

Sten Hagberg, chairman of the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography, says Yao's research on the "Third Pole", monsoon and glaciers are crucial to the understanding of the process of climate change, and affects more than 2 billion people, which is why it is a global topic.