Better forecasting to reduce weather damage

BEIJING - China has built an integrated weather monitoring system that provides better information about potential weather disasters, the country's meteorological authority said Saturday.

On the 53rd World Meteorological Day, Zheng Guoguang, director of the National Meteorological Center (NMC), said China has set up an all-round system to monitor and forecast weather disasters.

A total 419 ground observation stations, 87 aerological stations and seven Fengyun weather satellites will provide weather information for nearly 100 countries and regions to help cut down damage caused by adverse weather, Zheng said.

In the past five years, economic losses caused by weather disasters dropped from 1.22 percent to 0.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), with the overall death toll decreasing by 2,000 from the previous five-year period, according to NMC data.