Qinghai-Tibet Plateau receives biggest early winter snow in 57 years

XINING - Continuous snow has swept Qinghai province in Northwest China since the start of November, accumulating record high precipitation in the region's 57 years of history of meteorological records.

Snow accumulation between Nov 2 and 7 has reached 18 cm on the ground in Dulan County, Haixi Mongolian Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, where the height above mean sea level averages 3,180 meters.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, known as the "roof of the world," is an important region to monitor climate changes with the weather and the glaciers as indicators.

"Twenty-seven counties in Qinghai have seen the November snow set historical records. The provincial capital of Xining has seen precipitation reach 25.8 mm, also a record high," said Ma Zhanliang, senior engineer with the provincial climate center.

He said the big snowfall was triggered by the collision of southward polar cold air and warm air from southern China.

The provincial meteorological station warned that the severe snowstorms and continuous cold weather would cause difficulties in road traffic, transport, agriculture and animal husbandry.