Abstract:

Northwest China is very short of water resources and it secological environment is very brittle.With the implementing of the st rategy of developing West China, the contradiction between water supply and need becomes mo re pronounced.Based on 40 years of meteorological data of 91 w eather stations and combined with GIS, the dry/wet situation and water surplus/sho rtage quanti ty of different regions in Northwest of China are analyzed according to the climatic indices of precipi tation, potential evapot ranspiration and aridity.The results provide a basic knowledge fo r ratio nal development and use of water resources in Northwest ofChina.

Key words: water resources, campaign of developing west, potential evapo transpiration, aridity