Weather Forecasting Vital For Nyingchi

ZHAO WEIHONG

In the summer of 1998, Nyingchi Prefecture was exposed to historically rare flooding and waterlogging. A vast expanse of land was under water. However, the prefecture was able to minimize its losses largely due to an accurate weather forecast in March: "Drought in early summer, delayed rainy season, and flooding and waterlogging in the summer." "My headache is to cope with floods and forest fires," exclaimed Cewang Bandian, Commissioner of Nyingchi Prefecture. "Our prefecture lies in the southeastern part of Tibet, with high mountains, deep ravines, complex terrain and rapidly changing weather of extremes."

Given this, much effort has gone into accurate weather forecasting since 1988. Nyingchi Prefectural Weather Bureau developed a new method to predict forest fires in 1994, and satellites were used to monitor developing problems so as to deal with them and minimize economic losses. In 1999, the Nyingchi bureau experimented with artificial rain creation to increase forest humidity. This year, the Nyingchi bureau set up the computerized network for fighting forest fires covering Mainling, Bome and Gongbogyainda counties. Thanks to such progress, Nyingchi was able to minimize economic losses when flooding hit Nyingchi in 1994. Last April, when a serious landslide occurred in Yiong, the Nyingchi Prefectural Weather Bureau provided the disaster-stricken area with three-day advanced adverse weather forecast that proved a boon to locals in dealing with the disaster. Similar services have also been offered to road construction projects, civil aviation services, travel programs, scientific surveys, and important celebrations. As the prefecture is exposed to lightning, the Nyingchi bureau last year began close monitoring to ensure rapid reaction from the public services.

In order to give the public better access to weather forecasts, the Nyingchi bureau has developed a "multi-media TV weather broadcasting system" in Tibetan and Chinese. This is coupled with efforts to predict water levels and include weather forecasts into BP and telephone services.