New weather satellite launched

China launched a second weather satellite for the Olympic Games, the Fengyun-3 (FY-3), yesterday in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.

Zheng Guoguang, director of the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), said the FY-3 will work with the existing Fengyun-2 to ensure timely weather forecasts during the Beijing Olympic Games.

The FY-3 will send back images with a spatial resolution of 250 m and its temperature sensitivity will be in the region of 0.1 degree F. Both indices are close to the most advanced satellites in the world.