BEIJING: China will launch three Fengyun geostationary meteorological satellites over the next two years to enhance global early warning systems, supporting the United Nations’ Early Warnings for All initiatives and helping billions fight climate change, a senior official said.
Chen Zhenlin, head of the China Meteorological Administration, said the satellites — one optical over the Indian Ocean, and one optical and one microwave over the western Pacific Ocean — are in their final phases of integration testing and are scheduled for launch between 2025 and 2026.
The deployment of these satellites will bring groundbreaking development to global early warning systems, Chen told China Daily in an exclusive interview ahead of World Meteorological Day, which falls on Sunday and is themed “Closing the Early Warning Gap Together”. “Their high-frequency monitoring capabilities will allow these satellites to take advantage of the window for disaster prevention,” Chen said.
The Indian Ocean and the western Pacific regions are vulnerable to extreme weather events, including typhoons and torrential rainfall. Real-time monitoring by the Fengyun satellites will enable early detection of disaster precursors, buying crucial response time. The microwave satellite, which is capable of penetrating cloud cover, will provide precise analysis of typhoon structures, improving the accuracy of their path and intensity forecasts.
“This will give nations across Asia and the Pacific advance warnings ranging from hours to days,” Chen said. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
