The new indices to describe temporal discontinuity of snow cover on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Snow cover on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau significantly impacts the climate, hydrology, and ecology of China and East Asia. Current studies mainly use snow cover days to describe its duration, overlooking the snow’s discontinuous nature. This study analyzes snow phenology and the spatiotemporal distribution of continuous snow cover events on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from 1961 to 2019. The findings indicate that continuous snow cover days better capture the temporal discontinuity of snow cover compared to snow cover days. The contribution and continuity are lower than regions like North America, Europe, Northeast and Xinjiang in China, indicating poorer snow cover continuity on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Additionally, we found that temperature and precipitation, especially autumn temperatures and spring and winter precipitation, significantly impact various snow indices. Wind speed also significantly impacts snow cover, particularly in autumn. Atmospheric circulation indirectly affects the snow cover discontinuity by influencing temperature and precipitation.