Abstract: Abstracts Increased vegetation alters the moisture content of surface soil, enhances local water cycle processes, and influences land surface dynamics and atmospheric circulation. The Kubuqi Desert is one of the most successful regions in China in terms of ecological restoration and desertification reversal. To investigate the impact of increased vegetation on local convective activity in the Kubuqi Desert, this study utilizes hourly precipitation, temperature, and relative humidity data from the Kubuqi Desert and surrounding stations during 1962–2022, as well as PKU GIMMS global normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data during 1982–2022. The results indicate that annual mean and growing-season NDVI in the Kubuqi Desert exhibited an increasing trend from 1982 to 2022, with a significant increase in the oasis area north of the Yellow River. At the Yikewusu station in the desert hinterland, convective precipitation accounted for 80% during 0000–1200 BJT in the early treatment period (1982–1984); however, this proportion decreased to 51.6% in the later treatment period (2020–2022). Meanwhile, the proportions during 1300–1700 BJT and 2100–2300 BJT increased to 21.0% and 15.4%, respectively. At the Dengkou, Linhe, and Wuyuan stations, the onset of convective precipitation was delayed in the later treatment period. Numerical sensitivity experiments show that when vegetation increases by 10%, surface temperature in the sensitivity experiment decreases by 0.1°C–0.4°C compared to the control experiment; the sensible heat flux decreases by 1–24 W m⁻², and the convective initiation time and precipitation onset time are delayed by 20–40 minutes. Observational data and numerical simulations confirm that increased vegetation alters surface heat and moisture exchange, thereby influencing the generation and evolution of convective systems.