China will station a new generation of meteorological radars across the country in the next five years aiming to improve meteorological services and diminish the influences of weather hazards, authorities said Wednesday.

The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said the new radars would be stationed in the major areas or blind regions of existing meteorological services, and economically developed areas suffering frequent weather damages.

Wang Shourong, deputy administrator of CMA, told Xinhua that the new radars would monitor meteorological hazards in the rural and coastal areas, major rivers, transportation lines and economic zones. They would be able to meet demands from industries such as irrigation, aviation, marine and forestry.

Wang said the new radars could pre-locate medium and minor weather systems such as cumulonimbus and tornadoes. They could also warn if there were heavy rains coming.

The National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planner, has announced a development guildline for meteorological radars, aiming to install 158 radars nationwide by 2010.

Of the 5.783 billion yuan (US$846.71 million) of investment, 3.523 billion yuan was from the central budget and the rest from local governments and relative departments.

A total of 150 radars have already been equipped, the CMA said.

With a wide territory rich in landforms, China is often challenged by tough weather conditions. The rare heavy snow and ice at the beginning of last year paralyzed transportation systems in many parts of the country. Currently, the northern areas are suffering the most severe droughts in decades.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2009)