Abstract: Based on the average discharge of the Hotan River and the 0℃ level height data measured in summer at 3 hydrological and meteorological stations in the Hotan River basin, and the reanalyzed 500 hPa temperature from NCEP/NCAR, the relations of the discharge of the Hotan River with the 0℃ level height and the 500 hPa temperature were analyzed. The results are as follows: the summer average discharge and 0℃ level height decreased slightly in the Hotan River basin during 1961-2004, both the time series changed abruptly from high to low value in 1979. There were distinctive differences in summer 500 hPa temperature anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere between the typical high and low flow years of the Hotan River. The average discharge responded notably on interannual and interdecadal scales to changes of regional 0℃ level height in the Hotan River basin.

Key words: summer average discharge, zero degree level height, 500 hPa temperature anomalies, the Hotan River