China, US to collaborate on extreme weather forecasts

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China’s Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (QNLM) announced on Monday that it has collaborated with the US National Center for Atmosphere Research and Texas A&M University to establish an international laboratory to make early forecast on extreme weather.

The new lab is named the International Laboratory for High-Resolution Earth System Prediction (iHESP). And it is set to concentrate on the development of an advanced earth system modeling framework capable of providing reliable information at both the global and regional scale.

Glacier are melting. /AFP Photo

Wu Lixin, head of the Qingdao national lab and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said climate variations have aggravated the intensity of extreme weather, such as tropical cyclones, heat waves, winter storms, floods and rising coastal sea levels, and incur heavy casualties and economic losses.

According to Wu, Chinese and American scientists could join hands to improve the precision in predicting the extreme weather with the advance in super-computing and earth system modeling technology. In his opinion, open science and collaborative innovation have been playing a key role in international science and technology development.

Climate change is threatening mankind. /AFP Photo

The new lab is tasked to enhance international academic communication, bring more international professionals and resources together for doing better innovative research.

The lab will have two offices based respectively in Qingdao and the Texas university town, said the QNLM.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency