Movie industry gets new hero

Film crews need no longer worry about the weather during filming in China with the launch of a system which can provide more exact and customized weather information.

The system "Tianqiguan" (Weather Officer) released by domestic weather service supplier WeatherHero during the Shanghai International Film Festival targets film crews, a group greatly affected by weather for outdoor scenes.

It can provide accurate forecasts of precipitation for each minute in the following two hours, forecasts for each hour in the following two days and generate a 15-day forecast. It also gives detailed information about when the rain will start and end.

By using the system, efficiency of filming is expected to rise by 30 percent with the cost dropping by 8 to 15 percent. By following film crews in different areas, it can customize its weather services for an exact location and give advice about choosing background scenes and warn of changes in the weather.

The service covers all of China and 24,000 cities and areas overseas. The accuracy of its 24-hour, 48-hour and 72-hour forecasts are all at or above 90 percent.

According to Cao Lei with the meteorological data center of the China Meteorological Administration, the center will work with WeatherHero on value-added weather information, the Internet of Things and Big Data. "It will expand our services and information as well as facilitating the construction of 'Weather Big Data,'" said Cao.

Besides filming, WeatherHero also supplies weather services for agriculture, transport, energy and education.