Shenzhen National Climate Observatory (Shenzhen Astronomical Observatory) (hereinafter referred to as the Observatory) Shenzhen Astronomical Observatory is located in Xichong of Nan'ao Sub-district in Dapeng New District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China, and covers an area of 29,700 square metres.

The Observatory is mainly responsible for public, industry and professional meteorological services, land-sea integrated meteorological observation, construction and operation management of digital meteorological infrastructure, climate prediction and climate change services, astronomical observation and space weather monitoring and early warning, astronomical popular science publicity services, etc.

Fully equipped with astronomical equipment and optimally located, it may also be the best destination for stargazers to explore the universe in Shenzhen.

It also boasts the most ravishing scenery of mountains and seas, and is adjacent to the Dapeng Peninsula, one of 8 most beautiful coastlines in China by Chinese National Geography.

The Observatory against the ravishing beach scenery Credits to Shenzhen Municipal Meteorological Department

In 1952, Shenzhen initiated ground meteorological observation services, boasting a history of over 7 decades.

The Observatory is listed among one of the first batch of national climate observatories in China and is the only one nationwide that takes the ecological climate environment of megacity agglomeration (the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area urban agglomeration) as its observation and research subject.

The Observatory is composed of 1 station and multiple sites, forming a national monitoring network for weather, climate and climate change, and professional meteorology (traffic meteorology, tourism meteorology, marine meteorology, lightning, etc.,).

The view of the Observatory Credits to The Observatory

In terms of the layout of the detection station network, the observing network layout of the Observatory takes 8 meteorological sounding bases and 18 offshore oil platform gauging stations as the mainstay, the national basic meteorological station, 2 S-band weather radar stations, 3 X-band phased array radar stations, and meteorological gradient observation towers as the core, and comprises 370 regional meteorological observation stations, greenhouse gas observation stations, wind profile radar, lightning positioning instrument, solar radiation, microwave radiation, etc,.

Qiyutan base of the Observatory Credits to Shenzhen Municipal Meteorological Department

Precise monitoring solidifies the urban meteorological safety net. The Observatory has established 7 integrated meteorological observing bases as well as 320 automatic weather stations, forming a diversified observation network covering urban climate, marine meteorology and other fields.The density of the station network reaches 2.6 kilometers by 2.6 kilometers. The disaster monitoring rate is ≥98%. The real-time meteorological data of the automatic weather stations can be delivered to the forecasters' desktops within 1 minute and serve citizens through mobile terminals within 2 minutes.

Observing instrument inside the Observatory Credits to Shenzhen Municipal Meteorological Department

Meteorological data have empowered refined urban governance. Through the municipal government information resource sharing platform and the meteorological smart meteorological service platform, data services have been provided to the municipal emergency command center and 96 government departments, enterprises and institutions such as transportation, water supply and power supply, with a total of over 11.6 billion calls. The Observatory has also teamed up with departments such as planning and natural resources and water affairs to release the formula for rainstorm intensity by river basin. It has also advanced the construction of application scenarios for real-time rainfall in waterlogged areas, climate refined gridded data services, and extreme weather stress tests, and connected them to the city's CIM platform to support the gradual improvement of the precise governance capabilities of Shenzhen.

Climate services have effectively supported the construction of a green and beautiful Shenzhen. The local standard "Guidelines for Ecological and Climatic Comfort Evaluation" has been released, which is the first one of its kind in terms of ecological and climatic comfort assessment,underpinning the urban areas in completing the GEP accounting and the construction of sponge cities. The Observatory has reinforced survey, planning and utilization of climate resources such as wind energy and solar energy to ensure the green development of urban buildings.

Meteorological and astronomical science popularization has boosted the booming development of the night economy. The Observatory has been promoting the establishment of the country's first international dark night community in Xichong Community, which has been recommended as one of the "Top Ten Most Beautiful Starry Skies" in China. Over the past two years, it has drawn in more than 2 million tourists, stimulating the rapid development of local homestays, catering and study tours as well.

The night view of the Observatory Photoed by XU Lianda

The Observatory will contribute its meteorological wisdom and strength to national response to climate change, deeper insight into the impact and interaction between climate change and human activities, providing support for the sustainable development of cities (clusters) in adapting to climate change, building eco-cilivized cities, ensuring the safety of people's lives and property, and spearheading in demonstrating the construction of beautiful, harmonious and comfortable urban homes.

In collaboration with Shenzhen Municipal Meteorological Department

Special thanks to XU Wenwen with the Department

Planned by/Editor: LIU Shuqiao