China has made a breakthrough in weather monitoring after conducting a multi-dimensional and detailed observation of typhoon Prapiroon in real time, the fourth typhoon this year, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Sunday.
Prapiroon is expected to make landfall on south China's island province of Hainan on Sunday night, bringing strong winds and heavy rains to the island province and the Beibu Gulf.
On Sunday morning, the CMA and the Hong Kong Observatory achieved the first joint observation of ocean typhoons using drones and manned aircraft in key areas, accurately capturing the detailed structure of the outer cloud system of Prapiroon.
These observation data can help forecasters analyze information such as typhoon development trends, intensity changes, and structural characteristics. This will help improve the accuracy in mapping the typhoon path, intensity, wind and rain forecasts, according to the meteorological department. The Haiyan-1 drone took off from the national UAV meteorological observation test base at 2:45 on Sunday and flew into typhoon Prapiroon, returning to the base after a two-hour flight.
The drone captured over 4,200 pieces of effective data, transmitting them to various weather bureaus, local meteorological institutes and typhoon research centers.
During the mission, the meteorological monitoring drone accurately dropped eight sondes at the designated time and location, recording data such as temperature, humidity, wind direction, wind speed, and air pressure at different altitudes, allowing for a more detailed observation of the three-dimensional structure of Prapiroon.
At 10:00 on Sunday, the Hong Kong Observatory and the special administrative region's Government Flying Service dispatched manned aircrafts to drop sondes for observation.
Experts said when the typhoon center is far away, meteorological satellites provide typhoon cloud imaging and dynamic remote sensing observations. When the typhoon approaches, the weather radar, wind profiler radar, and coastal nearshore meteorological stations will provide relevant data.
Meanwhile, large high-altitude drones equipped with airborne drop sondes, cloud radars, temperature and humidity profilers and other remote sensing equipment, can obtain three-dimensional vertical structure information of the flight layer and the typhoon, forming a comprehensive typhoon monitoring network, together with meteorological satellites and weather radars, according to experts.
"We use large high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles to conduct observations of sensitive areas of tropical depressions in the South China Sea, providing refined observation data support for the evolution and development path forecast, and the intensity impact forecast of tropical depressions, thereby improving the accurate forecasting capabilities of typhoons," said Zhao Peitao, director of the base office of the Meteorological Observation Center under the CMA.
China makes breakthrough in exhaustive typhoon observation
