China includes hourly rain intensity into rainstorm warning signal standard

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- China has included one-hour rain intensity into its standard for rainstorm warning signals, according to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA).

Short-time heavy rainfall may cause urban waterlogging, mountain floods, geological disasters, and flooding of medium- and small-sized rivers. Hourly rainfall intensity is directly related to the severity of disasters, and different regions in China have different capacities to withstand the hourly rainfall intensity.

The administration has begun optimizing the country's early warning signals for meteorological disasters. Provincial, regional and municipal meteorological departments will include the one-hour rain intensity into the revised standard for rainstorm warning signals and bring thunderstorm, storm and gale into the warning signal in accordance with the local weather and climate conditions.

The CMA will launch a pilot project to apply the warning signals based on the new standard in seven provinces -- Liaoning, Zhejiang, Anhui, Hunan, Guangdong, Sichuan and Shaanxi, China Science Daily reported Thursday.