LHASA, Jan. 9 -- Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has seen a declining trend in sandstorms and dusty days in past decades, said local meteorological authorities on Thursday.

In the 2001-2010 period, Tibet has seen an annual average of only 2.7 sandstorm days, a sharp contrast from 13.4 days in the 1981-1990 period, according to statistics from the climate center of the Meteorological Bureau of Tibet.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a sandstorm-prone region due to the dual influences of upper-level jet stream and the region's extremely fragile environmental conditions.

Thanks to both the changing upper wind conditions and the region's improving natural environment, Tibet has seen a continuous decrease in windy days, said Du Jun, deputy director of the center.

To date, the forested area in Tibet has reached 14.71 million hectares, representing a forest coverage rate of 11.98 percent.