Climate change is causing the headwater region of the Yarkant River in Xinjiang to become warmer and wetter. Data from 1961 to 2006 shows that temperatures are rising and annual precipitation is increasing. The increase in temperature has a stronger impact on runoff than precipitation. As temperatures rise, runoff increases, but when precipitation increases, runoff decreases. Temperature has the biggest influence on runoff, with a correlation coefficient of 0.81, while the correlation coefficient between annual precipitation and runoff is -0.57.