Chinese meteorological authorities plan to introduce a color-coded weather warning system.

As of next month, warnings will be issued in 11 extreme weather conditions including typhoons, rainstorms, heat and cold waves, fog, sandstorms, lightning storms, gales, hailstorms, snowstorms and road icing.

Warnings labeled blue, yellow, orange and red in an ascending order matching national standards of seriousness will be issued through the media. The standards are the first of their kind in China, a meteorological official said Tuesday.

Zhang Guocai, a spokesman for the China Meteorological Administration, said the warning system is part of an overall system for disaster management.

The warnings will be issued alongside images and words in Chinese and English and broadcast on TV, radio and sent to mobile phones through short message service along with other possible means of mass distribution like electronic billboards in downtown areas.

"The system will help people prepare for and avoid the harm of bad weather and enable them to know about impending calamities as early as possible," said the spokesman.

"China must adopt a set of unified national criteria... to avoid any confusion and misunderstandings from the public," Zhang said.

Fujian, Shanghai and Guangzhou started similar warning systems as early as March.

Shanghai took the lead with a three-level warning system that signals weather in yellow, red and black according to the possible force.

The hope is that the national system will set a benchmark for local meteorological authorities to follow.

The administration released the pilot rules Tuesday in Beijing.

A guide is also issued to help local authorities take precautions against weather-related disasters such as typhoons and heat waves.

For example, shops should remain closed and classes suspended if typhoon warnings change from orange to red. A red level indicates average wind force of 12 on the Beaufort scale and the possibility of the typhoon striking within 6 hours.

Rainstorm intensity is classified in three degrees as yellow, orange and red.

A red warning means emergency squads must be ready for rescue operations as rainfalls are expected to reach 100 millimeters or higher in 3 hours, creating the possibility of floods.

However, meteorological authorities in China's west and northwest drought-prone regions will be allowed to work out their own standards for rainstorm since conditions there are different during the summer.

(China Daily August 25, 2004)