China puts people and life first, which is in line with the global disaster prevention and mitigation concept, that is, people-centered, prevention-first, timely warning and orderly action.

In recent days, the tackling of a weather process has been a case in point.

Featured by being prolonged, widespread, and disaster-inducing, from April 11 to 13, gale and temperature drop emerged in central and eastern portions of China. North China was subjected to persistent gales, while portions of southern China saw severe convective weather.

Hourly maximum wind product in China made by the national ground meteorological stations (>18 m/s) from 4:00 to 15:00 on April 13. Credits to CMA Meteorological Observation Centre

To effectively cope with this weather process, at 9:00 a.m. on April 10, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) activated level-three emergency responses.

Meteorological departments of China have taken precautionary measures in accordance with meteorological early warning in a bid to ensure the safety of people's lives and property. Besides, geared to catering to the safety needs of urban operation and affected sectors, localities and departments responded quickly to meteorological early warning.

Building a barrier against the gale in North China

From April 11 to 13, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and other portions of North China experienced extreme strong winds, with local gusts of up to 14 in mountainous areas of Beijing.

In Tianjin, the integrated operational platform of the Municipal Meteorological Observatory explicitly captured the motion of winds. Actually, Tianjin Municipal Meteorological Service has applied its independently developed super resolution artificial intelligence intelligence technology in  the correction of 100-meter-scale and minute-scale weather forecast products, delivering accurate forecasting for key areas, key positions, and specific periods.

Real-time wind condition credits to Tianjin Municipal Meteorological Service

In Beijing, the Municipal Meteorological Service joined hands with relevant departments to provide gale warning information and precautionary guidelines for the public via the mini program of “Jingtong”, in the meanwhile providing information like hourly wind speed, temperature, and  weather forecasts of the next 7 days.

In Hebei, departments in terms of meteorology, agriculture and rural affairs, maritime safety, electric power, transportation and others  have teamed up to promptly respond to strong winds and temperature drop. On April 12, based on the red warning signal of gale issued by the provincial meteorological observatory, the State Grid Hebei Electric Power Company coordinated the deployment of equipment inspection, hidden danger investigation, power grid monitoring and emergency repair preparation and other measures.

Progressive meteorological service delivered in tackling the impacts of winds and rain

CMA has developed a progressive meteorological service mechanism which makes meteorological information dissemination more timely, and adopts“call and response” when high-level early warning is issued, to tackle changing disaster risks.

Affected by strong cold air, from April 12 to 13, South of the Yangtze River Region, Huanghuai Region, Jianghuai Region and other regions experienced temperature drop of 6℃ to 10℃. Meanwhile, short-range rainstorm, strong thunder and hail battered Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Hubei.

Meteorological departments in China issued timely early warnings and reinforced coordination with relevant departments, and guard against the impacts of this weather process by delivering progressive meteorological services.

For instance, prior to the arrival of the severe convective weather, the Wechat public account of "Zhejiang Warning Release" continued to release science popularization videos of early warning information such as thunderstorms, winds and lightning, which was a severe weather science popularization product launched by Zhejiang Provincial Meteorological Service based on exploring artificial intelligence to deepen the public's understanding of extreme weather.

On April 12, the coast of Putuo district, Zhoushan, Zhejiang was blanketed by scale 10 to 11 northwest wind. All kinds of vessels in Shenjiamen Port timely returned to take shelter. Photoed by XIE Lei

From 20:00 on April 11, Anhui Provincial Meteorological Service updated the weather forecast by 3 hours, reminded relevant municipal meteorological departments respectively to issue early warning information in a timely manner, and adopted“call and response” when high-level early warning was issued. As of 14:00 on April 12, provincial meteorological departments issued 276 early warning signals for severe convection, wind and rainstorm, and the early warning SMS covered 436,000 emergency responders.

Different departments have also joined forces to cope with the adverse impacts of the weather process.

On April 11, Jiangxi Provincial Meteorological Service issued an emergency notice jointly with the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, requiring all links of agricultural production in preventing and responding to strong wind, hail, rainstorm and temperature drop. It also joined hands with the natural resources department to release geological disaster risk alerts, and boost disaster prevention capabilities.

Meteorological departments of Jiangsu focused on key sectors such as transportation, energy, and agriculture, consolidated communication with relevant departments and industry users, closely monitored the conditions of roads and power equipment affected by winds, and reminded relevant departments to take precautions.

China's commitment and contributions to Early Warnings for All and global sustainable development

China fully implements the United Nations Early Warnings for All (EW4ALL) initiative and establishes a meteorological disaster prevention and mitigation mechanism.

Prof. Celeste Saulo Secretary-General of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) remarked that WMO greatly appreciates the support of China for EW4ALL.

China's practice in early warning and meteorological development have been highly recognized by the global community and shared to the world.

For instance, in 2024, CMA and Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration shared rainfall observing data from meteorological stations in China-Vietnam bordering regions, underpinning decision-making of local governments on both sides, in particular, county- and prefecture-level governmental agencies in disaster mitigation and response work.

China stands ready to work with fellow developing countries through professional training, visiting scholar programs, and research scholarships to enhance its shared capacity for climate resilience.

China will further share its practice of early warning to the entire world, further bolstering global disaster prevention and mitigation efforts and promoting sustainable development.

Editor: LIU Shuqiao