Contributed by my friend Ernest (with minor edits from me):China launched a weather satellite on Tuesday that according to their scientists, will give them data accurate enough to make 15-day forecasts possible. This avid watcher is intrigued and skeptical at the same time. When was the last time you trusted a forecast more than 3 days out? But China has made this 'a national priority'. The country will launch 22 additional meteorological satellites by 2020.
But wait, it gets better. The country wants to control the weather they forecast. China is working on rain-making schemes to wash the pollutants out of the air in time for the start of the Olympics. And because the chance of precipitation in the summer is always about 50% and you don't want the opening ceremonies to be deluged by rain, the Chinese will also use 'action units' to 'stand alert' upwind from Beijing ready to wring the clouds dry before they make it near the stadium.
Thanks Ernest, for lightening my blogging workload today.
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