Antarctic meteorological stations start formal operation

Members of China's Taishan scientific expedition team establish new buildings under snow at Taishan Station in Antarctica, Jan. 1, 2019. (Xinhua)

BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Two more meteorological stations of China in the Antarctica began formal operation Wednesday to help the country obtain long-term and continuous observational data on the continent, said the China Meteorological Administration.

The two automatic stations, located at China's Antarctic research bases, Kunlun and Taishan stations, were set up by China's Antarctic expedition teams in 2017 and 2012, respectively.

The station operation will help observe the Antarctic ice sheet and further advance the global weather forecasting, said Wang Yi, deputy director of the World Meteorological Centre (Beijing) Office.

Long-term and continuous meteorological observation in the South Pole can enhance China's capabilities of monitoring and forecasting polar weather and climate, support scientific expeditions and protect the polar environment, the administration said.

China has developed a new-generation ultra-low temperature automatic meteorological station after inventing a variety of equipment and sending expedition members to Antarctica for observation field tests since 2010.

In 2018, it became the third country after Australia and the United States that has the ability to carry out continuous automatic meteorological observation in the ultra-low temperature areas in Antarctica.