As the Ürümqi region's population and economy are growing, the water demand exceeds the natural supply.
The from industrial emissions mixed with the local anthropogenic aerosol with the transported soil dust from outside the city were the main sources of the high concentration of sulfate, one of the main factors causing the heavy air pollution over Ürümqi.
There are 20,000 glaciers in Xinjiang — nearly half of all the glaciers in China.
The oldest known settlement in the area, a village called Urabo or Wulabo , was located about 10 kilometres 6 miles from the southern suburbs of present-day Ürümqi.
A fort was built either in 1755 or 1758 depending on sources , and the Qing then established garrisons of Manchu and Mongol and Han Chinese troops at Ürümqi.
In February 1997, bombings in Ürümqi following the resulted in 20 deaths and scores of injuries.