Abstract: Based on the meteorological data in different regions of Qinghai Province from 1961 to 2006, tendencies and decadal changes of climatic elements, including annual temperature and precipitation, annual mean maximum and minimum temperatures, and their differences before and after the abrupt climate warming of 1987, were analyzed. In addition, the reasons for significant climate change and its regional differences were discussed. The results show that annual mean temperature increased obviously in various regions of Qinghai in the last 46 years, especially in the Qaidam Basin, the climatological warming trend was 0.44℃/10a; the variation of precipitation exhibited distinctly regional differences, with the most significant increasing rate of annual precipitation, 6.67 mm/10a, in the Qaidam Basin, and the most distinctive declining rate, -5.23 mm/10a, in eastern agricultural region. The increase of greenhouse gases, changes in cloud amount and upper-level moisture transport, and regional difference of underlying surface might be responsible for climate change and its obvious regional differences in Qinghai in 1961-2006.

Key words: temperature, precipitation, climate change, regional difference, cause, Qinghai Province