Beijing builds advanced weather forecast system for Winter Olympics

Beijing has built an advanced monitoring network and weather forecast system for Winter Olympics, authorities said on Wednesday.

Since winning the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing has built 17 meteorological observation stations and four emergency backup stations in the Yanqing competition zones, and three meteorological stations in the Beijing competition zones.

"These stations are able to monitor wind speed, wind direction, rainfall, air temperature, air humidity, radiation and other meteorological elements around the clock," said Shi Shaoying, leader of the weather service team at Yanqing.

Shi added that the stations would be of particular help for the Alpine skiing event, held in the mountains far away from the city. "If the visibility is too low, it will affect the vision of skiers and officials; the temperature and quality of snow are directly related to the amount and type of snowboard waxing; the wind speed and snow amount determine whether the event can be carried out as usual."

"Therefore, the forecast of gust, rain and snow is always the key and difficult point. Some stations are built on the key points of the ski slope," Shi added.

Located in northern Beijing, the Yanqing competition zones will host alpine skiing, bobsleigh and luge competitions during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Enditem