A dataset of lakes in Qinghai province with an area above 1.0 km2 in 2020

Qinghai province (31°39′~39°19′N, 89°35′~103°04′E) is located in the northeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. As the source region of the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Lantsang River, it is known as the China Water Tower. The contemporary investigation of lakes in Qinghai province is of great significance to understand the impacts of climate change and promote the ecological civilization construction. Based on Sentinel-2A/2B MSI images acquired in 2020, the pixels of water body were firstly extracted according to the normalized difference water index (NDWI) greater than the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Then the vector dataset of lake boundary with an area above 1.0 km2 in Qinghai province was built after manual inspection and revision. Some attributes of the lake including its name, area, elevation, basin, administration and date were also attached. This dataset reflects the status of lakes in Qinghai province in 2020, and can be used as the data source and scientific basis for researches on lake ecological protection, rational use of regional water resources, disaster prevention and mitigation in Qinghai province.