Qinghai buried in snow

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 November 2 and 7 has reached 18cm on the ground in Dulan County, Haixi Mongolian Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, where the height above mean sea level averages 3,180 meters. “Twentyseven counties in Qinghai have seen the November snow set historical records. The provincial capital of Xining has seen precipitation reach 25.8mm, also a record high,” said Ma Zhanliang, senior engineer with the provincial climate center. He said the snowfall was triggered by the collision of southward polar cold air and warm air from southern China.