People in Tibet experienced their first warm New Year holidays in life this winter with temperature surging to an abnormal high of 21 degress Celcius, the eastday.com reported today.

High temperature, dry weather and rushing gales have haunted Tibet since the middle of this Junuary, stipping off people's clothes to one or two, the report said.

The highest temperature of 21 degrees Celcius occured on February 1, setting a new record in this area's history. The average temperature of the northern Tibetan highland has reached 9 to 10 degrees and the southern highland 17 degrees. The northern highland is 4,500 meters above the sea level, which makes it hard to witness such warm weather at any time of the year.

Meterological analysis attribute the unusual weather to the high air pressure and the meet of fronts in the north.

(Eastday.com 02/06/2001)