Weathermen marshalled for Olympic duty
7 March 2008
Weather forecasters from across the country and abroad will be recruited to provide hourly bulletins in three languages for every event at the Olympics, Reuters reported. The languages will be Chinese, English and French. The head of the China Meteorological Administration, Zheng Guoguang, said more than 70 of the country's best provincial forecasters would be sent to Beijing during the Olympics. Weather experts from former Olympic hosts like the US and Australia will also attend in order to share expertise and technology. Zheng said there was a 47% chance of rain on the day of the opening ceremony, which will be held in the roofless Bird's Nest stadium, but that any the precipitation would probably be extremely light.