China exports 20,000 upper-air weather balloons to Africa

CHANGSHA, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- A total of 20,000 weather balloons produced by a Chinese company have been distributed to 16 African countries for upper-air meteorological observation.

The operating altitude of the product is 20 percent higher than that of the weather balloons currently used by the countries including Benin and Mauritius, said the Zhuzhou Rubber Research &Design Institute Co., Ltd. of ChemChina, the manufacturer.

Higher altitude means that the balloon-borne monitoring can acquire more accurate data on wind speed, temperature and humidity to help the countries improve their capacities for preventing and coping with meteorological disasters, the company said.

Its balloons are used for 75 percent of China's upper-air meteorological observations. The product has also been recognized by the procurement department of the World Meteorological Organization, as well as foreign meteorological research institutions, universities and government departments.

The company exports over 130,000 balloons each year to more than 40 countries and regions, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Mongolia, India and Turkey.