China began to provide free servicein space weather monitoring and warning to the government and the public as the National Space Weather Monitoring and Warning Center was put into use in the China Meteorological Administration on Thursday.
Set up in June of 2002, the center was a strategic program of the State Council in space weather research and development. After two years of establishment and test operation, the center has set up a website, where they provide updated weather reports and forecasts everyday, according to Zhang Wenjian, director of the Department of Observation and Telecommunication under the administration.
Space weather refers to the state of the sun, solar wind, the magnetosphere, the ionosphere and the thermosphere. It can affect the function and reliability of the technical systems in the space and on the ground.
Abnormal or bad space weather could have disastrous results on satellites, telecommunication, navigation and power transportation, said Yang Jun, deputy head of the National Satellite Meteorological Center.
Any organization or individual as well as governmental and military departments can get the latest information from the website and ask for special space weather service for free, said Zheng Guoguang, deputy director of the administration.
