半干旱气候变化教育部重点实验室是目前国内外独具特色、专门研究半干旱气候变化的科研机构，2008年获教育部批准建设，2009年5月通过教育部建设论证，2011年5月通过教育部验收，分别于2015年和2020年通过教育部评估，评估结果为良好。实验室主任由中国科学院院士黄建平教授担任，第一届学术委员会主任为中国科学院符淙斌院士，现任学术委员会主任为中国科学院院士、南京信息工程大学王会军教授。

       实验室借助兰州大学地处半干旱区，具有地域特色和多学科的优势，开展以半干旱气候和环境观测实验、大气遥感和资料同化、气候变化机理研究以及半干旱气候变化的预测与适应对策等方面的研究，旨在搭建一个有利于系统深入地进行多学科交叉研究的平台，使之成为我国半干旱气候研究的创新园地，为我国科学家组织和主持大型国际气候研究计划提供综合研究基地，将我国半干旱气候研究推向国际前沿行列。

       实验室有固定人员79人，其中，中国科学院院士2人，国家重大科学研究计划首席科学家1人，国家“万人计划”科技创新领军人才1人、教育部长江学者特聘教授1人，国家杰出青年基金获得者3人，国家优秀青年基金获得者4人，教育部青年长江学者2人、国家“万人计划”青年拔尖人才1人、教育部大气科学教学指导分委员会副主任1人，教育部高校青年教师奖获得者1人，教育部新世纪优秀人才2人，“全国气象教学名师”称号3人，全国黄大年式教师团队1个，全国气象教学团队2个，甘肃省领军人才6人，甘肃省杰出青年基金获得者2人、甘肃省高校跨世纪学科带头人5人，甘肃省高校教学名师2人。

       实验室主要研究方向有：半干旱气候和环境观测实验研究、半干旱区大气遥感和资料同化、半干旱气候变化机理和模拟预测、半干旱气候变化的响应与适应对策。观测平台有榆中气候综合观测站、兰州城市观测站、野外移动观测站、数据信息交换站，研究平台有地气相互作用研究中心、遥感与资料同化研究中心、气候模拟与预测研究中心、气象灾害及应对研究中心，应用平台有环境质量评价研究中心、气候变化评估研究中心、大气探测开放实验室。

       近年来，主持承担包括国家重大科学研究计划、国家973计划项目课题、国家杰出青年科学基金、国家自然科学基金重点项目和国家科技支撑计划课题等各类科研项目300余项。发表论文800余篇，出版教材和专著10余部，获国家自然科学二等奖等各类奖励60余项。

       重点实验室组织实施了2007-2008年春季中美沙尘暴国际联合观测试验、西北典型半干旱区陆面过程加强观测试验、民勤黑风暴观测试验、中国北方大范围地区季节性积雪中碳质气溶胶观测试验，我国北方沙尘-生物气溶胶观测试验，引起国内外广泛关注。实验室主任黄建平教授有关沙尘暴与干旱气候的最新研究成果被Nature杂志在其网站气候变化栏目和地球科学栏目中分别介绍，并被聘任为联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）第五次评估报告第一工作组主要撰写人。2011年，入选教育部创新团队，获批国家重大科学研究计划项目“全球典型干旱半干旱地区气候变化及其影响”，2012年获批国家外国专家局111计划“半干旱气候变化创新引智基地”（连续资助），2015年获批国家自然科学基金委创新研究群体项目“半干旱气候变化机理”（连续资助）。 2013年实验室主任黄建平教授获国家自然科学二等奖。

       加快开展半干旱气候领域的科学研究和高层次人才培养，具有重要的科学意义和战略意义。兰州大学地处半干旱区，具有地域特色和多学科的优势，目前建成的半干旱气候变化教育部实验室，已经显示出其整体水平较高、发展潜力大、具有国际影响力的良好势头，将有力地促进半干旱气候变化的研究和高层次人才培养，推进我国半干旱气候研究进入国际前沿行列。

       Key Laboratory of Semi-Arid Climate Change attached to Ministry of Education (Lanzhou University), is a well-known international scientific research institution, dedicated to the research on semi-arid climate change, with its uniqueness and specialty at home and abroad. It was authorized to be built in 2008 by Ministry of Education, and in 2009 its construction was verified, then one year later (i.e. in 2011) it went through the inspection and was formally accepted by the Ministry. The laboratory successfully passed the evaluation of the Ministry of Education in 2015 and 2020 respectively, and the evaluation result was good. Now the director of the laboratory is Prof. Huang Jianping, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences. And Prof. Fu Zongbin, an academician of Chinese Academy of Science, is the first Academic Committee of the laboratory. The current Academic Committee of the laboratory is Prof. Wang Huijun, academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology.

       Key Laboratory of Semi-Arid Climate Change attached to Ministry of Education (Lanzhou University) relies on the geographical uniqueness and multi-disciplines of Lanzhou University carrying out semi-arid climate and environment observation experiments, atmospheric remote sensing and data assimilation, and research on the mechanism of climate change and coping strategies for the semi-arid climate change. It aims to build a platform beneficial to systematically further interdisciplinary researches, and open a new field for innovation researches on arid climate change. It also tries to make the platform to be a research base for Chinese scientists to organize and carry out international climate research projects and carry the arid climate change research in China forward into the leading-edge of the field in the world.

       The Key Laboratory boasts a faculty of 79 members (in the year of 2023), including 2 academician of Chinese Academy of Science, 1 Scientist-in-Chief of National Major Research Programs, 1 scientific and technological innovation leader of National high-level talent special support plan, 1 Yangtze River Scholar and Guest Professor, 3 winners of National Distinguished Youth Foundation, 2 Yangtze River Outstanding Youth Scholars of the Ministry of Education, 1 outstanding and innovative young scholar of National high-level talent special support plan, the Deputy Director of the Teaching Guiding Sub-committee for Atmospheric Science under Ministry of Education, 1 winner of Outstanding Young Teacher Award for Higher Education Institutions Given by the Ministry of Education,  2 winners of New Century Excellent Talents Support Program,  3 winners of National Famous Meteorology Teaching Teacher,  1 National Huang Danian Teacher Team, 2 National Meteorological Teaching Team, 6 winners of Leading Talents at Universities in Gansu Province, 2 winners of Gansu Outstanding Youth Fund and 2 winner of Distinguished Teachers at Universities in Gansu Province.

       The main research directions of the Key Lab include semi-arid climate and experiment, atmospheric remote sensing and data assimilation, climate change mechanism, simulation and prediction of semi-arid areas, coping strategies for climate change in semi-arid areas. The Key Laboratory contains 4 observation centers including Yuzhong Observation Station, Urban observation Station in Lanzhou City, field mobile observation station, data exchange station, Research center for Earth-Atmosphere Interaction, Research Center for Remote Sensing and Data Assimilation, Research Center for Simulation and Prediction of Climate Change, Research Center for Meteorologic Disasters and Response, Research Center for Environmental Quality Assessment, Research Center for Climatic Change Assessment, and the Open Laboratory of Atmospheric Sounding.

       In recent years, the members of the Key Laboratory have undertaken more than 300 projects, including National Major Scientific Research Programs, National 973 Project, Programs of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, Key Programs of Natural Science Fund and National Science and Technology Support Program etc. They have issued over 800 papers and published more than 10 monographs and teaching materials, meanwhile they have won more than 60 awards including the First-Rate Awards for Scientific and Technological Advancement given by Ministry of Science and Technology and Gansu Province.

       The Key Laboratory has successfully carried out the first Sino-US joint Observation Experiment on Sand-storm (2007-2008), Intensive Observation Experiment of Land Surface Processes in typical Semi-arid Region of Northwest China, Intensive Field Experiment on Heavy Duststorm in Minqin Area, Observation Experiment on Black Carbon Aerosol in seasonal snow cover of Northern China, Intensive Observation Experiment of Dust-Bioaerosol in Northern China, which have caused a widespread concern at home and abroad. Professor Huang Jianping was also invited to be the main writer of the first work team by the UN IPCC. In 2011, the Key Laboratory entered into the innovative teams of Ministry of Education, as well as was authorized the National Major Scientific Research Program ‘ Globally Typical Arid and Semi-arid Climate Change and Influence’, and then in 2012 it was authorized the 111 Project of Foreign Experts Bureau ‘The Base for Introduction of Innovative Talents in Semi-arid Climate Change’ (Continuous funding). In 2015, the laboratory was approved by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Innovative research group project 'Mechanism of Semi-arid Climate Change' (continuous funding). It is of great strategic significance to accelerate the scientific research on semi-arid areas and the cultivation of high-level talents. Lanzhou University is located in the arid and semi - arid zone, whose geographical uniqueness and advantages of multi-disciplines have helped to successfully build the Key Laboratory.

       Key Laboratory of Semi-Arid Climate Change attached to Ministry of Education (Lanzhou University) has been taking on the good momentum of its overall research capabilities, potentials to develop and worldwide influence, which will greatly boost the research of semi-arid in China into the frontier in the world.