The agent will function as the liaison between the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau and its customers on land and sea and in the air.

"The weather greatly affects our daily lives and work, but the social awareness of its economic benefit needs to be spread and that will be the agents' main job," said Hu Dingwen, an official of the bureau.

Changing weather patterns affect many fields, such as shipping, aviation and the construction of bridges, tunnels and tall buildings.

More and more weather-conscious manufacturers and department stores that sell seasonal products such as air conditioners must do better adjusting their business strategies based on weather data.

In the first half of this year, more than 100 enterprises signed agreements with the bureau for weather services so that they could fix the production target this year, said Xu Jiye, director of the Information Market Department at the Shanghai Meteorological Centre.

The yearly output of weather services in the city is expected to hit about 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million).

"We expect to launch the related regulation in early October," Hu said. "By the end of the year, the training of the first batch of agents will get under way."

The special regulation on weather agents will specify the qualifications, service scope, registry procedure and certificate validation for the new profession.

"Some errors are to be expected because of the limited scientific knowledge in forecasting," Hu said.

The bureau, together with the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administration Bureau and the Shanghai Association of Professional Agents, is doing market research as preparation.

(China Daily August 9, 2002)