Weather forecasters work their magic in Beijing

Because of unsettled weather in Beijing from the end of June to the beginning of this month, forecasting weather has been a tough job.

During the period, the capital entered flood season and so the effect of intermittent weather cannot be ignored, according to the Beijing Meteorological Service. Rain and strong convective weather comes suddenly, accompanied by thunderstorms, strong winds and hail.

To help celebrate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, the Beijing Meteorological Service established a special team of weather forecasters — 11 people to monitor weather and rainfall starting from the end of last year, according to a report by Beijing Daily on Saturday.

"This large-scale event is quite different from those in the past, with many event locations and a wide time span, which increases the difficulty of predicting the weather in flood season," said Zhang Yingxin, a chief forecaster from the municipal weather authority, in an interview with Beijing Daily.

Weather forecasters in Beijing reviewed 10 years of data and  analyzed storms one by one.

"We found strong convective weather under different weather systems in the same period and analyzed the causes," said Zhao Wei, another chief forecaster for the service. Much statistical preparation has been done by the weather forecasters during the past six months. 

Zhao noted that many event locations are involved with the celebration of the 100th anniversary. She and her fellow forecasters had gained experience in the weather forecasting for Tian'anmen Square, but as for the area around the Bird's Nest (National Stadium) they had little. 

"By comparison, there is a greater chance of high temperature weather around the Bird's Nest area — about 40 percent," Zhao said. "In the same period, the temperature at the Bird's Nest will be higher than at Tian'anmen Square." 

Through weather forecasting for the celebration of the CPC centennial, Zhao said, preparations left a precious legacy for the future of weather forecasting in Beijing.