On November 17, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) announced that China and Russia have established a space weather center in Beijing as part of a global effort to enhance the international space weather center system.
China-Russia Space Weather Center (CRC) is operated by the CMA, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring of Russia.
Space weather is as important as ground weather. (Photo: IC)
According to the CMA, this initiative aims to accelerate the development of meteorological services for international civil aviation.
This is the first global center for civil aviation meteorology approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization and is also the fourth global space weather center.
Space weather is crucial for high-tech systems such as satellite operations, human health, and particularly for aviation safety, communication, positioning, and tracking. The reliability of aviation electronic systems can be severely affected by space weather.
The Chinese meteorological agency has initially established the main framework for a national space weather operation mechanism with the capability to monitor the entire process of the solar-terrestrial chain. China is capable of providing long-term, medium-term, and short-term forecasts, and the accuracy of space weather forecasts can be compared to international standards.
The CMA began researching space weather in the late 1990s. In 2002, the country approved the establishment of the National Space Weather Early Warning and Monitoring Center, which officially became operational in 2004.
In 2012, relevant agencies in China began preparations for the development of space aviation weather services. China and Russia jointly registered to establish a regional space weather center in 2018, and the CRC was approved in 2020.
