The China Meteorological Administration is creating a nationwide network to measure solid and liquid precipitation more accurately. A part of the precipitation gauges is based on sensors developed by the Norwegian company Geonor AS in cooperation with China Huayun Corporation.

Climate change has led to more intense precipitation of rain and snow that could lead to natural disasters such as landslides, snow avalanches, and floods. Such disasters cause severe damage to infrastructure, manmade buildings and structures, while threatening the lives of many people.

To prevent serious consequences from climate change, monitoring precipitation more closely has become more apparent, especially in the remote areas. It's necessary to establish effective warning systems, which require extensive installations of automatic weather stations with reliable all-weather precipitation gauges.

"An all-weather precipitation gauge must be accurate, reliable and durable even during the toughest weather conditions. Our gauge has proven effective under such conditions for more than 25 years," said CEO yvind Klevar.

Geonor developed the first precipitation gauge based on weighing technology in cooperation with the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

The heart of the system is a vibrating-wire sensor that has an unparalleled track record of long time performance. The NGI has conducted ongoing tests for eight of the sensors that have been accurately and continuously working for more than 35 years without a break or drift.

"Accuracy and durability are key factors with the international success of the device, but transparency is also important. What separates us from our main competitors is that we have an open system, which allows the users and researchers access to raw data, in order to validate and trust measurements," said Klevar.

"We have already established good cooperation with Chinese partners and customers for several years and we have delivered several units to Chinese authorities and research institutes including a unit installed at 7,012 meters altitude on Mount Everest. However, our ambition is to become the number one supplier for leading national networks in China since we have already achieved that in Scandinavia, the United States and Canada. We hope our cooperation with Huayun Corporation will be fruitful in this respect," he added.

www.geonor.no