BEIJING -- Chinese meteorological authorities said they have installed state-of-the-art observatories on Mount Qomolangma (Everest) to ensure timely and accurate weather information before and during the Olympic torch relay , which will reach a height of 8,300 meters on the peak.

"We have installed necessary monitoring devices and mobile wind profilers that can work in the low-temperature environment and generate more precise weather reports, based on numerical forecasts and site analysis," said Wang Jianjie, a spokeswoman with the Beijing Meteorological Bureau.

Mount Qomolangma (Mt. Everest) [Xinhua]

Based on these forecasts, Wang said the bureau will recommend the best time and route for the expedition to Mount Qomolangma and will stay in close contact with the mountaineers during their trekking. "For example, we'll warn them in advance of high wind."

The Qomolangma weather service system will capture weather data through satellites as well as the six automatic meteorological stations that have been in place since last May, located at six points between the Base Camp at 5,200 meters to an elevation of 6,200 meters above sea-level, she said.

Zheng Guoguang, head of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), has identified weather forecast services for the 17-day Olympiad opening on August 8 as "a priority" for 2008 as the country may face much more frequent adverse weather.

The priority of the priorities, he said, would go to short-range forecasts and weather analysis services for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies, tests on rain making, the presentation of the Olympic torch on Mt. Qomolangma, the torch relay and the successful running of all the events.

The Olympic torch relay will begin with lighting the flame in ancient Olympia, Greece on March 24. After its arrival in Beijing on March 31, the torch will travel to 19 foreign cities and 115 domestic ones. More than 21,000 runners will participate in the relay.

The last stop for the relay will be at a site 8,300 meters above sea level.