Abstract: Based on the snow depth data in winter and spring at 45 stations in the Qinghai Plateau from 1961 to 2008, the spatio-temporal distribution and frequencies of snow disaster in the Qinghai Plateau were analyzed according to the snow disaster standard of DB63 (i.e., the provincial standard). The results show that the snow disasters of all levels displayed a rising trend over the past 48 years except the exceptionally heavy snow disaster. The south of the Qinghai Plateau (including Yushu, Guoluo, southern Huangnan, southern Hainan and eastern Haixi) is the high frequency region of snow disasters but the snow disaster occurred rarely in the Qaidam Basin and eastern Qinghai. The frequency of snow disasters shows a generally rising trend since the 1960s.

Key words: Qinghai Plateau, snow disaster, spatio-temporal distribution