Chinese meteorologists have begun a year-long atmospheric experiment in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is regarded as a barometer of the global climate, in a bid to improve weather forecasts.

The experiment, launched Monday by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), will mainly take place in the east part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China News Service reported. The report didn't mention the cost.

"The east part of the Plateau has complicated geographic features and is a key region for meteorological study," said Li Yueqing, the deputy director of the Chengdu Institute of Plateau Meteorology under the CMA.

Li said that by studying and collecting more data from the atmospheric boundary layers in the area, scientists will have a better understanding of the meteorological impact of the plateau and can thus improve weather forecasts.

Atmospheric detection is considered the foundation of meteorological study. Experts said that the atmospheric environment on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has great influence on the Chinese and global climates.

China conducted two rounds of atmospheric experiments on the plateau in 1979 and 1998.

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in western and southwestern China is the highest plateau in the world. It covers all of Tibet and Qinghai, western Sichuan and southwestern Gansu -- an area of 2.3 million square kilometers at an elevation of 3,000-5,000 meters.

(Xinhua New Agency December 12, 2007)