China on Tuesday launched the Fengyun-2H weather satellite, which will reportedly monitor weather conditions of China and regions, including the Indian Ocean.
The last satellite in the Fengyun-2 series was launched on Tuesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, carried by a Long March-3A rocket.
The satellite's position will be changed from its original 86.5 degrees east longitude to 79 degrees east longitude based on a request from the World Meteorological Organization and the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, so that it can monitor weather conditions of not only China but also countries along the Belt and Road, the Indian Ocean and most of Africa.
This would improve the accuracy of weather forecasting and provide better meteorological services to countries participating in the Belt and Road initiative, the Xinhua News Agency commented.
The Fengyun satellites are servicing more than 80 countries and regions as well as more than 2,500 domestic clients. The Fengyun-2 series satellites have monitored all 471 typhoons in the western Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea, including 141 typhoons in China since 1998, Beijing-based news website chinanews.com reported.
With the launch of the Fengyun-2H, weather forecasts in the eastern hemisphere now depend mainly on China's meteorological satellites, Xinhua said.
