The invention belongs to the technical field of air conditioners, and particularly provides an air conditioner and a control method thereof. The invention aims to solve the problems that an outlet direction of an existing snow protection cover is fixed and cannot be adjusted according to a wind direction change so as to easily cause the backward blowing of wind and snow and influence a ventilationeffect. Therefore, the air conditioner provided by the invention comprises an outdoor unit and a control system, wherein an air outlet is formed in the top part of a tank of the outdoor unit. The airconditioner further comprises a snow protection cover communicating with the air outlet, a rotary drive device connected with the snow protection cover, and a wind direction detection device arrangedon the tank, wherein the snow protection cover and the top part of the tank are rotatably arranged; and the rotary drive device and the wind direction detection device are in communication with the control system. According to the air conditioner and the control method thereof provided by the invention, an outlet direction of the snow protection cover can be adjusted according to the wind direction change, and the outlet direction and the wind direction keep consistent or keep within a small included angle, so that the backward blowing of wind and snow can be effectively prevented, and the ventilation efficiency is improved.