Accurate forecasting

Beijing faces more problems with the weather than previous host cities like Athens and Sydney because of its relatively complex climate, said Sun Jisong, a senior forecaster at BMB.

Unlike in Athens, which has a dry summer, Beijing sees about 40-50 percent of its annual precipitation in August, a notoriously unpredictable month for local forecasters.

China launched Fengyun-2D (FY-2D), an Olympic weather forecasting satellite, in December and it is now working in tandem with ground control, said Ding Deping, director at the Beijing Meteorological Observatory.

"The satellite will provide accurate and timely information about changes in the weather to help us with our forecasts during the Beijing Games, especially the opening and closing ceremonies and important events," said chief designer Li Qin.

FY-2D will form a twin-star observation system with Fengyun-2C, the country's first geostationary orbiting weather satellite launched in 2004. Together they will monitor atmospheric changes across the country every 15 minutes and send back images every half an hour.

To ensure people are informed of the weather conditions at over 40 venues in Beijing and other host cities at least three hours in advance, Beijing plans to set up 164 automatic meteorological stations before the Games, 106 of which are already in operation.

Along with temperature, wind speed, cloud cover, humidity and air pollution, the bureau aims to forecast the timing and intensity of rainfall to within 1 square km.

In Qingdao, host of the Olympic regatta, authorities aim to second-guess the size and speed of the waves, while other departments will supply information pertinent to tourism, daily living, ultraviolet rays and pollen levels for people with hypersensitivity

The information will be networked across websites (including BOCOG's official site), mobile phones, radio and TV broadcasts, print media and other channels.

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