(Adopted at the 12th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on October 31, 1999. Promulgated by the Order No. 23 of the President of the People's Republic of China on October 31, 1999. This Law is effective on January 1, 2000.)
颁布日期：19991031 　实施日期：20000101 　颁布单位：全国人大常委会

Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Construction and Management of Meteorological Facilities

Chapter III Meteorological Survey

Chapter IV Weather Forecast and Severe Weather Warning

Chapter V Precautions against Disasters

Chapter VI Exploitation and Protection to Climate Resources

Chapter VII Legal Liabilities

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is formulated with a view to improving meteorological cause, and standardizing meteorological work, and issuing weather forecast accurately and timely, and taking precautions against disasters, and exploiting and protecting climate resources reasonably, and providing weather service for economic construction, defense construction, social development and people's life.

Article 2 This Law shall be applied to the meteorological activities conducted in the People's Republic of China and other maritime belt under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China, such as meteorological survey, forecast, service, precautions against weather disasters, exploitation of climate resources and research on weather scientific technology.

Article 3 Meteorological cause is the basic public welfare undertaking of economic construction, defend construction, social development and people's life. Meteorological job shall put the weather services of public welfare in the first place. The people's governments at or above county level shall strengthen their leadership and coordination to weather services, and bring meteorological cause into the plan of social development and the budget of central authorities and local national economy at the same level so as to ensure bringing its function of services for social public, the policy decision of governments and economic development into full play. Where the people's governments at or above county level, in accordance with the need of local social economy development, establish the items of local meteorological cause, the investment is mainly bore by local finance. Weather stations, predicated on assuring bare weather services of public welfare, may launch meteorological charge services according to law.

Article 4 The weather stations, subordinate to the competent meteorological agencies in counties and cities, shall mainly serve agriculture production, and provide the meteorological information services of public welfare timely and actively needed by the guarantee to local agriculture production.

Article 5 The competent meteorological agency under the State Council is responsible for national meteorological services. Local competent meteorological agencies at different levels, under the leadership of higher competent meteorological agencies and the people's government at the corresponding level, are responsible for the meteorological services in their respective administrative divisions. Other relevant departments under the State Council and the meteorological agencies subordinate to the relevant departments of the People's governments in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall subject their meteorological services to the guide, supervision and industrial management of the competent meteorological agencies at the same level.

Article 6 The ones, engaged in the pursuits of meteorological business, shall abide by the technical standards, specifications and rules formulated by the state.

Article 7 The state encourages and supports the following activities, such as scientific and technical research on meteorology, the popularization of meteorological scientific knowledge, the fosterage of qualified meteorologist, the spread of advanced meteorological science and technology, the protection to meteorological scientific and technological achievements, the reinforcement of international meteorological cooperation and exchange, the development of meteorological information cause and the enhancement of meteorological services level. The people's governments at different levels shall be concerned for and support the construction and function of meteorological stations in the areas inhabited by the minority nationalities, in outlying and impoverished districts, in arduous areas and in islands. The unites and individuals, making outstanding contributions to meteorological services, shall be encouraged by giving awards.

Article 8 The foreign organizations and individuals engaged in meteorological activities in the territory of the People's Republic of China and other sea areas within the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China must be approved by the competent meteorological agency under the State Council in presence of relevant departments.Chapter II Construction and Management of Meteorological Equipment

Article 9 The competent meteorological department under the State Council shall organize relevant departments to establish the construction planning of important meteorological facilities, including meteorological survey facilities, specific transmission facilities of meteorological information, large-scale meteorological technical equipment, and implement it after approved by the State Council. The judgment and modification to the construction planning of meteorological facilities must be reported to the State Council for approval. The establishment of the construction planning for meteorological facilities shall conform with the principals of reasonable distribution, effective exploitation and the consideration of necessary of both present and a long term, and avoid double construction.

Article 10 The construction projects of important meteorological facilities, prior to the approval to a proposal reports and a research report of feasibility, shall be permitted based on examination by the competent meteorological department under the State Council or the competent meteorological departments in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in accordance with the consequential limits for examination and approval of items.

Article 11 The state protects meteorological facilities in accordance with law. Any units or individuals may not be permitted to disseize, to derogate or to move meteorological facilities without authorization. Where meteorological facilities sustain damages because of force majesture, local governments shall adopt emergency measures, and organize force to repair, and assure meteorological facilities of normal operation.

Article 12 Any organizations or individuals may not move weather stations without approval by law; where organizations really need to move base weather stations of state, and basic weather stations because of the implementation of urban planning or key project constructions of state, they shall report to the competent meteorological agency under the State Council. Where it needs to move other weather stations, they shall report to the competent meteorological agencies in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities for approval. The fee for movement and construction shall be bore by construction units.

Article 13 Special meteorological technical equipment shall conform with the technical requirements provided by the competent meteorological agency under the State Council, and they shall be qualification based on the examination of the competent meteorological department under the State Council; the ones without examination, or the ones unqualified based on examination may not be used in meteorological business.

Article 14 Meteorological measurement instruments shall, in accordance with the relevant stipulations of Measurement Law of the People's Republic of China, be examined by agencies of measurement examination. The meteorological measurement instruments, without investigation, unqualified based on examination or surpassing duration of validity, may not be used. The competent meteorological agency under the State Council and the competent meteorological agencies in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall, based on the requirement, establish standard instruments of meteorological measurements. Their highest standard instruments of measurement, in accordance with the stipulations of Measurement Law of the People's Republic of China, shall be used after qualification based on examination.Chapter III Meteorological Survey

Article 15 The weather stations subordinate to competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall, in accordance with the stipulations of the competent meteorological agency under the state Council, conduct weather survey and hand the meteorological survey materials over relevant competent meteorological agencies. They may discontinue weather observation without the approval of higher meteorological competent agencies. The competent meteorological agency under the state Council and relevant local competent meteorological agencies shall timely issue basic meteorological survey materials according to the stipulations of the state.

Article 16 Other relevant departments under the State Council and the weather stations subordinate to other relevant departments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and other organizations or individuals engaged in meteorological survey shall deliver the acquired meteorological survey materials to the meteorological competent agency under the State Council or the competent meteorological agencies in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in accordance with the relevant stipulations of the state. Competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall, in accordance with the principal of participation and common of use of meteorological materials, change relevant meteorological information materials with other agencies engaged in meteorological work based on the relevant stipulations of the state.

Article 17 The drilling platforms on the inland waters, marginal seas of the People's Republic of China and other marine belts within the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China and the air vehicles used on international airlines with the nationality of the People's Republic of China, the vessels of ocean navigation shall, in accordance with the relevant stipulations of the state, conduct weather survey and report meteorological survey materials.

Article 18 Where the meteorological survey materials, except basic meteorological survey materials are demanded to maintain secrecy, the determination, modification, declassification and use of secret degree shall be conducted based on the stipulations of Law of the People's Rep ublic of China on Guarding State Secrets.

Article 19 The state protects the environment of weather survey by law. Any organizations and individuals are all the ones having the obligation of protecting the environment of weather survey.

Article 20 The following acts endangering the environment of weather survey are forbidden: (1) To place obstacles, to conduct demolition, and to gather stones within the protected scope of the environment of meteorological survey ; (2) To establish high frequency electromagnetic radiation influencing the efficacy of operation of weather survey facilities within the protected scope of the environment of weather survey; (3) To be engaged in other acts influencing weather survey within the protected scope of the environment of weather survey. The standard of delimitation for the protected scope of the environment of weather survey is provided by the competent meteorological agency under the State Council. The people's governments at different levels shall delimit the protected scope of the environment of weather survey in accordance with legal standards and put them into urban planning or village and town planning.

Article 21 The construction projects, such as new projects, extension projects and reconstruction projects, shall be on prevention of the damage to the environment of weather survey; where they are really unavoidable, the environment of survey of base weather stations and of basic meteorological stations under the state, construction units shall, prior ask the competent meteorological agency under the State Council for approval; the environment of survey subordinate to other weather stations, construction units shall prior ask the competent meteorological agencies in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities for approval and may just make a construction after relevant measures are adopted.Chapter IV Weather Forecast and Severe Weather Warning

Article 22 The state shall institute a unified issuing system to public weather forecast and severe weather warning. The weather stations subordinate to the competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall issue public weather forecast and severe weather warning to society according to their obligations and make a supplement or a revision to them timely according to the change of climate. Any other organizations or individuals may not issue public weather forecast or severe weather warning to society. Other relevant departments under the State council and the weather stations subordinate to the relevant departments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities may issue special weather forecast for the use of their system. The competent meteorological agencies at different levels and the weather stations subordinate to them shall enhance the accuracy, promptitude and service level of public weather forecast and severe weather warning.

Article 23 The weather stations subordinate to competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall issue professional weather forecast according to the needs, such as weather forecast on agriculture, weather forecast on urban environment, degree forecast on fire insurance, and coordinate with military meteorological departments conducting the work of weather service required by defense construction.

Article 24 The broadcasting stations and television stations at different levels, and the newspapers appointed by people's governments at provincial level shall arrange special time or a special space of a whole page to broadcast or to issue public weather forecast or severe weather warning every day. The weather stations subordinate to the competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall assure the quality of weather forecast programs made by them . The unites distributing broadcast and TV program, changing the planned time of broadcast of weather forecast, shall prior ask relevant weather stations for their approval; the broadcasts to the severe weather warning causing probably serious effect to nation's economy and to the people's livelihood and the supplement and correction to weather forecast shall be timely increased or interposed.

Article 25 Where the media, such as broadcast , TV, newspaper and electronic information, disperses weather forecast or severe weather warning to society, it must employ the timely meteorological information provided by the weather stations under competent meteorological agencies and mark a releasing hour and the name of the weather station. The income, from dispersing meteorological information, shall be drawn partly to support the development of meteorological cause.

Article 26 Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom Industries shall act in close coordination with competent meteorological agencies, and ensures the clean of obstructions in meteorological communication, and transfer weather information, weather forecast and severe weather warning accurately and timely. Where the special channels of meteorological radio and channels are under the protection of the state, any units or individuals may not act in possession by squeeze and interference.Chapter V Precautions against Weather Disasters

Article 27 The people's governments at or above county level shall strengthen the survey to weather disasters and the construction of system of early warning, and organize relevant departments to establish the plans of defense against weather disasters, and adopt effective measures to enhance the ability of defense against weather disasters. Relevant departments and individuals shall submit themselves to the command and arrangement of people's governments, and do the work of defense against weather disasters well.

Article 28 Competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall organize joint monitoring and prediction work to serious disastrous weather of transboundary districts and transboundary departments. They shall timely propose the measures taken for prevention against weather disasters, and make assessments to serious weather disasters and propose decisionmaking criterion for the defense against weather disaster organized by their people's governments. The weather stations subordinate to the competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall strengthen the monitoring and forecast to the probable affect to local weather disasters, and report them to relevant competent meteorological agencies timely. The weather stations subordinate to other relevant departments and the units, having relation with weather monitoring and forecast to weather disasters, shall timely propose the information about meteorological monitoring needed by the monitoring and forecast to weather disasters and relevant monitoring information about the situation of water and windstorm tides.

Article 29 The people's governments at or above county level shall formulate defense program against weather disasters in accordance with the need of defense against weather disasters, and organize the enforcement of the plan of the defense against weather disasters in accordance with the weather information provided by meteorological competent agencies, and avoid or reduce weather disasters.

Article 30 The people's governments at or above county level shall strengthen the leadership of artificially affecting weather and launch the work of artificially affecting weather in accordance with actual situation in a organized and planned way. The competent meteorological agency under the State Council shall strengthen the management and guidance to national work of artificially affecting weather. The local competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall formulate the operation plan of artificially affecting. The local competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall formulate the operation plan of artificially affecting weather, and under the leadership and coordination of their people's governments, they manage, guide and organize the enforcement of operation artificially affecting weather. Relevant departments shall do their best at the relevant jobs of artificially affecting weather by coordination with competent meteorological agencies in accordance with duty labor. The organizations, enforcing the operation of artificially affecting weather must have the condition of qualification provided by the competent meteorological agencies in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, and use the operating facilities conforming with the skill standard required by the competent meteorological agency under the State Council, and abide by operating specifications.

Article 31 The competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall strengthen the organization and management to the defense work against thunder and lightning disaster, and guide the monitoring work of the buildings, fixtures hit probably by thunder and lightning and conservatory installations against thunder and lightning disaster installed by other facilities. The installed conservatory installations against thunder and lightning disaster shall conform with the requirement for use provided by the competent meteorological agency under the State Council.Chapter VI Protection and Exploitation of Climate Resources

Article 32 The competent meteorological agency under the State Council is responsible for the comprehensive investigation to national climate resources, and the work of division into districts, and organize conducting meteorological monitoring, analysis and assessment, and conduct the monitoring to the aerial elements probably causing climate worse, and regularly issue bulletins of national weather state.

Article 33 The people's governments at or above county level shall make plans to the direction and focal point protection of exploitation of climate resources in accordance with the characteristics of local climate resources. The competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall propose the suggestions about the exploitation and protection of climate resources and the extension of applied division into districts of climate resources to their local governments and relevant departments at the same level according to the plans of their governments.

Article 34 The competent meteorological agencies at different levels shall organize the feasibility demonstration to the exploitation items of climate resources, such as city plan, key construction projects of state, the items of important regional economic development, large-scale solar energy and wind energy. Where the units, having the qualification of evaluation of the effect on air environment conduct the assessment to the affect on air environment of the items of projects construction, they shall adopt the meteorological materials provided or examined by competent meteorological agencies.Chapter VII Legal Responsibilities

Article 35 Where the ones violate the stipulations of this Law and commit one of the following acts, the relevant competent meteorological agencies, in accordance with their competence, shall order them to suspend their illegal acts, and set a time limit for recovery of the original state or adopting other remedial measures, and impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan; where such act causes loss, they bear the liability for compensation according to law; where such act constitutes a crime, they shall be investigated for criminal responsibilities: (1) Disseising, destroying or moving meteorological facilities without approval; (2) Being engaged in damaging activities of meteorological monitoring environment within the protected scope of meteorological monitoring environment. Where the units approve to occupy land in violation of law within the protected scope of meteorological monitoring environment, or occupy land illegally to construct new buildings or other installations, they shall be subjected to sanctions in accordance with the relevant stipulations of Urban Planning Law of the People's Republic of China or Land Management Law of the People's Republic of China.

Article 36 Where any units or individuals use special meteorological technical facilities inconsistent with technical requirements in violation of this Law; where such act constitutes damages, relevant competent meteorological departments shall order them to correct according to their competence and give them warnings, and impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan.

Article 37 Where any ones install the protective facilities of thunder and lightning disasters inconsistent with the requirement for use in violation of the stipulation of this Law, the agencies order them to correct, and give them warnings. Where any units cause damages to others because of using the protective facilities of thunder and lightning disasters inconsistent with the requirements for use, they shall bear the liability for compensation according to law.

Article 38 Where any ones have one of the following acts in violation of this Law, relevant competent meteorological agencies order them to correct according to their competence, and give them warnings, and impose a fine of not more than 50,000 yuan: (1)Issuing illegally public weather forecast and severe weather warning to society; (2) Where the media disperses public weather forecast, severe weather warning to society, the media, such as broadcast, TV, newspaper and communications, fail to adopt the timely meteorological information provided by the weather stations subordinate to competent meteorological agencies. (3) Where the units, engaged in the estimation to the affect of air environment, conduct the estimation to the affect of air environment of the items of construction projects, they adopt the meteorological materials which are not provided or examined by competent meteorological agencies.

Article 39 Where the ones implement the operation of artificially affecting weather without the conditions of qualification provided by competent meteorological agencies in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in violation of the stipulations of this Law, or implement the operation of artificially affecting weather where ones adopt the operation facilities inconsistent with the technical standard required by the competent meteorological agency under the State Council. Relevant competent agencies order them to correct in accordance with their competence and give them warnings, and impose a fine of not more than 10,000 yuan; where such act causes damages to others, they shall bear the liability for compensation by law; where such act constitutes a crime, they shall be investigated for criminal responsibilities.

Article 40 Where the staff of competent meteorological agencies at different levels and the staff of weather stations subordinate to the meteorological competent agencies at different level cause the accidents such as grossly failing to declare, misstating public weather forecast, severe weather because of through neglect their duties, and losing or damaging original meteorological monitoring materials and counterfeiting meteorological materials, they shall be subjected to administrative sanctions by law; where such act causes the heavy damages to the state interest and people's life and poverty; where such act constitutes a crime, they shall be investigated for criminal responsibilities by law.Chapter VIII Additional Rules

Article 41 The implication of the following terms in this law means: (1) Meteorological facilities mean meteorological monitoring facilities, special transmission facilities used by meteorological information and large-scale meteorological special technical facilities: (2) Meteorological monitoring means the conduction of the system of observation and survey to air and air physical process near layer, phenomenon and their chemical quality by using scientific and technological measures. (3) Meteorological monitoring environment means, in order to avoid various disturbance and to ensure the environment space constructed by the smallest distance needed by meteorological monitoring facilities accurately acquiring meteorological monitoring information. (4) Weather disaster means the disasters caused by typhoon, storm(snow), coldwave, strong wind (sandstorm), low temperature, high temperature, arid, thunder and lightning, hailstone, frost, and greater fog. (5) Artificially affecting weather means the following activities, such as in order to avoid or to reduce weather disasters, and to fairly use weather resources, and to conduct artificially affect to partial atmosphere physics and chemical process by scientific and technological means under proper conditions so as to realize the aim of increasing rain and snow, to prevent hail, to dispel rain, to dispel fog and to prevent fog.

Article 42 The special management rules to weather stations, other units engaged in weather services with consideration, and the scope, items and charging of weather service with consideration shall be formulated by the State Council in accordance with this Law.

Article 43 The management rules of the meteorological work of People's Liberation Army of China shall be formulated by Central Military Commission.

Article 44 Where the international treaties about meteorological activities, concluded with the People's Republic of China or joined by the People's Republic of China have different stipulations from this Law, the stipulations of international treaties shall be applied. Notwithstanding the reserved clauses declared by the Peoples' Republic of China are exclusive.

Article 45 This Law shall be effective as of the date of January 1, 2000. Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Meteorological Services promulgated by the State Council on August 18, 1994 is annuled