Most parts of Tibet have had no snow at all since early December, except for the Sengge Zangbo River and Burang County in Ngari Prefecture, Xainza County in Nagqu Prefecture and Nyalam County in Xigaze, says a report issued by the meteorological bureau of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

"There was light snow in some areas between September and November, but it's a long time since we carefully treaded our pathon a thick blanket of snow, or heard children's laughter in the snowfield," said Cering, a native of the regional capital Lhasa.

Life was not the same when Cering was a child half a century ago."Lhasa used to have heavy snow every winter and we enjoyed snowballing each other. I still have a scar on my forehead, left by a snowball that had a stone inside."

As years went by, Cering said he saw less and less snow until it totally disappeared in Lhasa this winter.

"The absence of snow is a result of abnormal circumfluence of air," said Daindzin, senior engineer with the regional meteorological bureau."There's not enough cold current from the north or sufficient humid air from the Indian Ocean in the south, both elements essential in the formation of snow."

Even the world's highest peak, Mount Qomolangma, is thirsting for snow now, he said, adding the situation was somehow related to global warming, as Tibet was very sensitive to climate changes.

"Until the early 1990s, we were often cut off for months every snow season," said Ngagwang Oiser, a 36-year-old monk at a monastery at the foot of Qomolangma."In the recent two winters, however, there is little snow but stronger gales instead."

Lack of snowfall has led to higher temperatures and lower humidity across Tibet, said Daindzin.

The average temperature in most parts of Tibet in November and December last year was higher by two degrees Celsius than usual; in Nagqu Prefecture, the temperature rise was three degrees Celsius, said a report released by the bureau.

Since the beginning of this year, most parts of the autonomous region reported temperature rises between two to four degrees Celsius, and the temperature rise reached six to seven degrees Celsius in Nagqu and Ngari prefectures, it said.

The maximum daytime temperature in Lhasa alone has been hovering above 10 degrees Celsius for weeks, though half of the nation is frozen in what is supposed to be the coldest time of the year.

Alongside the temperature rise was high wind. Nagqu and Xigaze,for example, experienced 30 to 45 days of continuous high wind starting in November. In the past, however, such windy weather rarely lasted for more than 20 days.

The arid and windy climate has made local forests more vulnerable to fire, and the regional meteorological station has observed at least 50 suspicious fire spots this winter, 17 of which were confirmed. Enditem