9th May 2022, Kathmandu
China sets up the world’s highest automatic weather station at 8,800 m altitude on Mount Everest
At a height of 8,830 meters above sea level, a Chinese expedition team led by scientists has erected the world’s highest meteorological station on Mount Everest. The crew successfully tested the automated station and transmitted data to demonstrate that the system is operational on the cold peak.
The station, which is powered by solar panels, is meant to endure two years under adverse weather conditions and is equipped with a satellite communications system for data transfer, according to CGTN. The radio station has been programmed to transmit every 12 minutes, according to Xinhua.
Previously, a comparable facility jointly established by the UK and the US in 2019 was located at an altitude of 8,430 meters on the mountain’s south flank, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) (CAS).
According to CGTN, Beijing now has seven of these stations functioning between 5,200 and 8,300 meters. According to accounts, the station’s equipment weighs roughly 50 kg and was dismantled before being hoisted to the mountain.
The station will collect data from the surrounding region, filling a gap in the world’s “third pole” meteorological record.
Previously, a comparable facility jointly established by the UK and the US in 2019 was located at an altitude of 8,430 meters on the mountain’s south flank, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP) (CAS).
According to CGTN, Beijing now has seven of these stations functioning between 5,200 and 8,300 meters.
According to accounts, the station’s equipment weighs roughly 50 kg and was dismantled before being hoisted to the mountain. The station will collect data from the surrounding region, filling a gap in the world’s “third pole” meteorological record.