Eight meteorological stations in China recognized by world body

Eight meteorological stations in China have been recognized by the World Meteorological Organization as the first batch of 75-year meteorological stations, the China Meteorological Administration announced on Thursday.

The eight stations are the Nenjiang National Baseline Meteorological Station in Heilongjiang province, the Fuzhou National Baseline Climatic Station in Fujian, the Shapingba National Baseline Meteorological Station in Chongqing city, the Emei Mountain National Baseline Climatic Station in Sichuan province, the Xingren National Baseline Climatic Station in Guizhou province, the Hami National Baseline Climatic Station in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the Zhangye National Climatic Observatory, and Kongtong National Baseline Meteorological Station in Gansu province.

The eight meteorological stations recognized by the WMO meet 10 selection criteria, including an operational period of over 75 years with missing data not exceeding 10 percent (excluding impacts from wars and disasters), Wang Jiankai, deputy director of the department of comprehensive observation of the CMA, said at a news conference in Beijing.

The Emei Mountain National Baseline Climatic Station in Sichuan province, for example, was established in July 1932 and is the oldest one among the stations recognized in China this time.

It is also one of the stations participating in the WMO meteorological data exchange, Wang said.

According to Wang, the recognition mechanism of 75-year meteorological station was first proposed by the CMA and was approved at the 19th World Meteorological Congress in 2023.

"The mechanism aims to protect more historically significant meteorological stations worldwide. It will also serve as a demonstration for the subsequent selection standards, technical reviews, and process optimization of global meteorological stations of this caliber," he said.