Organizers of the 2008 Summer Olympics have said they will try to take control over the most unpredictable element of all — the weather.

Wang Jianjie, a spokeswoman from the Beijing Meteorological Bureau, addressing a news conference at the headquarters of the Beijing organizing committee, said, ‘Our team is trained. Our preparations are complete.’

That does not, however, mean that the team can control the weather. But it can do more than any other comparable scientific establishment.

China is among the world’s leaders in ‘weather modification’ but with more experience creating rain than preventing it. In fact, the techniques are virtually the same.

Cloud-seeding is a relatively well-known practice that involves shooting various substances into clouds, such as silver iodide, salts and dry ice, that bring on the formation of larger raindrops, triggering a downpour. But Chinese scientists believe they have perfected a technique that reduces the size of the raindrops, delaying the rain until the clouds move on.

The weather modification would be used only on a small area, opening what would be in effect a meteorological umbrella over the 91,000-seat Olympic stadium.

Wang Yubin, an engineer from the meteorological bureau said, ‘This is really a very complex process in terms of selecting the place and the time. Probably we will have to decide one day before or very close to the event.’
Source: LA Times

Beijing’s contingency plans to battle pollution for the 2008 Olympics are based on extensive scientific study and will prove effective in providing clean air for the Games, a senior adviser to the organisers said.

Dr Sarah Liao, a scientist and former minister in the Hong Kong government, is also convinced the environmental commitments she helped draw up for the host city bid in 2001 will result in a lasting legacy for the whole of China.

Dr Liao said, ‘It’s not just something you pull out of your hat. This list was constructed through very extensive scientific study, they have asked Tsinghua and Peking Universities to model on various meteorological scenarios.

‘They have gone through an extensive study. They are getting the data from the trials and going back to validate the models. We will fulfill our original bid commitment, namely to meet Chinese and pre-2005 World Health Organisation standards on air quality.’

Beijing has invested RMB120 billion ($16.22 billion) in environmental programs and Paolo Revellino, author of a United Nations Environmental Program report, has said he thought the work Beijing had done in bridging the gap to developed nations was ‘astounding’.

Dr Sarah Liao said, ‘In a nutshell there has been great improvement in air, water, waste, ozone depleting substances and the greening of Beijing. They have set things in track that will never turn back.’

Aspects that pleased Dr Liao most were that Beijing had leapfrogged to much higher standards in areas such as vehicle emissions and that environmental considerations now had to be taken into account in any new projects in the city. This will be part of the legacy of the Games.
Source: Guardian

Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), has urged meteorologists countrywide to strive to provide the best services during the Olympics next summer.

He said, ‘A top-grade Olympic Games can not do without first-class weather services.’ He called on meteorological departments to provide more accurate forecasts.

He said that due to global climate change, the weather during next year’s Olympic Games will be much more complicated than previous ones and therefore poses tougher requirements for China’s weather services.

Beijing has set up 26 bases around the city to carry out rain reduction projects for the grand sports event next year.

The city has been trying to improve meteorological services to serve the event, including accurate weather forecasts and air quality reports.

At the beginning of August, China held a rain reduction drill in Inner Mongolia to ensure that the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games would not be interrupted by rain. It met with limited success because the weather in Inner Mongolia refused to co-operate. As is often the case.
Source: China View

Chinese scientists are conducting high-altitude tests to eliminate clouds and stop rain spoiling any part of next year’s Beijing Olympics. Dozens of scientists flew for three hours over Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia in China’s far north dropping chemical compounds designed to disperse clouds and prevent rain.

The mission was part of a wider scientific research drive to enhance chances of blue skies and sunshine for the Games opening ceremony on August 8 and the closing ceremony on August 24.

Liu Xiaolin, an official with the Inner Mongolia weather control office said the test efforts, which coincided with the one-year countdown to the Beijing Games, were moderately successful. He said, ‘Although the clouds were not as thick as expected and other weather conditions were unfavorable, the drill still collected sufficient data.’

Three planes carrying 30 technicians flew for about three hours within a 80 kilometre (50-mile) radius about 8,000 meters (26,000 feet) above Hohhot. The researchers dropped silver iodide and diatomite, two compounds thought to prevent the moisture forming into rain drops.

Liu Xiaolin said that while the dispersion technique was not successful in thick or large clouds containing a lot of moisture, it did work in smaller cloud build-ups.

China has already set up an extensive system that officials claim may be able to make it rain if needed during the Games, such as if a storm is required to clear polluted air.
Source: Daily Times