Real-time weather forecasting system testing has begun in Tokyo. The technology, based on data from weather radars and ground-based digital radio waves, can predict the onset of heavy rains or tornadoes in 20–30 minutes.
The system will deal with the prediction of the so-called "partisan showers" - precipitation, which are formed due to water vapor and which is difficult enough to predict. For example, existing meteorological systems do not cope with this task. The system is developed by the National Institute of Information and Communication Technologies of Japan (NICT) together with public and private companies. It is planned that it will be deployed for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.
For the first time in history, Chinese engineers launched a rocket probe for meteorological observations from an unmanned submersible ship. The device will allow to monitor the atmospheric phenomena in areas beyond the reach of other probes.