Short-term Drought Forecast System Operating in BeijingThe short-term drought forecast system based in Beijing, a main project in the field of meteorology for China's ninth five-year social and economic development plan (1996-2000), has been put into operation, experts said Wednesday.Li Zechun, leader of the project and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the system is expected to provide more efficient service to policy makers in the sectors of agriculture, water resources, man-controlled weather and contagion control. With a total investment of 1.2 million yuan (US$140,000), the project combines the study of droughts which frequently affects Beijing with flood research, aiming at developing various methods on disaster forecast and improving short-term forecast quality. The system will also help policy makers analyze the causes of disasters and evaluate the impact of disasters before they work out relevant countermeasures. Experts suggest the system be developed into a comprehensive information platform to cover the whole of north China, with functions such as monitoring, analyzing, forecasting, evaluating and consulting service. |
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