Accurate estimates of regional and global glacier mass require many field-based sample measurements that are widely distributed across an area of interest. The Sawir Mountains are an isolated mountain system in Central Asia and changes in glacier mass balance from this region have rarely been reported. In this study, we provide a comprehensive analysis of mass changes of the Muz Taw Glacier in the Sawir Mountains based on glaciological and geodetic measurements. The glaciological mass balance exhibited a strong variability during the period 2016-2020, with a range of values between - 1.29 and - 0.31 m water equivalent (w.e.) and a mean value of - 0.86 +/- 0.16 m w.e. Differences in the surface elevation of the Muz Taw Glacier were determined from analysis of a topographic map (1:100,000 scale) and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) point-cloud data, with these data sources indicating an average surface elevation change of approximately - 33.36 +/- 9.39 m or - 0.54 +/- 0.15 m a(-1) during 1959-2021. This thickness is roughly equivalent to half of the mean thickness of the glacier terminus, which has contributed to the negative geodetic mass balance of - 28.36 +/- 8.23 m w.e. or - 0.46 +/- 0.13 m w.e. a(-1). Approximately twice as much mass has been lost from the Muz Taw Glacier during the past 5 years (2016-2020) than estimated by geodetic data, indicating that the mass loss of Muz Taw Glacier has continued unabated.

In the hydrological year 2022/2023, the glaciers in the Qilian Mountains experienced unprecedented mass loss. The glacier -wide mass balance was -1,188 mm w.e., in contrast to -350 mm of average mass balance since 1990 over the Bailanghe Glacier No. 12 in the middle of Qilian Mountains. The temperature during 2022-2023 reached the highest value ever recorded, second only to 2022, while at the same time the precipitation amount was less compared to other year since 2000, which together led to the strongest glacier mass loss during 2022-2023. The atmospheric circulation analysis shows that the high temperature in the Qilian Mountains in 2023 was jointly caused by the Arctic air mass and East Asian monsoon.