China launches first climate forecast product to public

China has published the first issue of a climate prediction communique, which is the country's first such product launched to the public.

The regularly-released communique includes monthly, seasonal and annual predictions of climate trends, offering climate information to economic activities and preventing meteorological disasters, said Jia Xiaolong, an official with the National Climate Center (NCC).

The public can search prediction results and their real-time updates on the official websites of the NCC and local meteorological authorities, Jia said.

Climate forecast was previously provided for the Chinese government's decision-making process for disaster prevention and agricultural production. With improved prediction accuracy in recent years, China has set up a mechanism for forecasting future climate in different spans of time.