Equipment upgrades helped improve accuracy

The Shaanxi Meteorological Bureau improved its techniques to provide more accurate weather forecasts during the 14th National Games, which opened on Sept 15 and ended on Monday.

The bureau added 81 sets of monitoring equipment in 13 competition areas in the province and devised a smartphone app to release weather reports for different areas.

"Rapid collection of accurate observation data is the foundation of good weather forecasting, and that depends on a dense observation network that produces detailed data," the bureau said.

Before preparations for the games began, Shaanxi's meteorological monitoring stations were mainly located in urban districts and known sites of flooding, landslides and other types of weather-related events.

That didn't meet the demands of a large sporting event, so the network was improved and intensified by the adoption of more equipment, including a special weather radar, the bureau added.

Wang Hongjun, deputy director of emergency support for the 14th National Games Meteorological Center, said the radar helped improve the accuracy of the center's observations.

"The old weather radar took 10 minutes to scan and process data, but this new one only takes one minute to complete the work. It can observe weather within a range of 50 meters. It's just like catching small fish with a fine net. Small and medium-scale weather including hail, thunderstorms and strong winds are caught by the 'net'," he said.

The bureau said the radar will continue working to monitor unusual weather events, which will benefit everyone in the province for several years. It has also devised equipment to provide forecasts for special outdoor sports, and set up equipment in fields alongside the Hanjiang River to monitor water temperatures and provide data for sports such as the triathlon, kayaking and other aquatic events.

The equipment automatically monitors elements in real time, including wind speed and direction, water flow and temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation and visibility.

Sand temperature monitors were installed at the beach volleyball court in Dali county, Weinan city, while a heat-pressure monitor was fitted at the equestrian arena in Shaanxi's Xixian New Area. The monitor obtained real-time data, which was used to assess potential temperatures of horses competing in events.

All the results were released through a smartphone app called Weather Tracking for the National Games, which had about 120,000 users.

It showed the conditions for each competition arena and provided warnings of weather that could affect events. The reports were divided into four user categories: athletes; members of the public; volunteers; and the media.