China to launch new weather satellite

Beijing: China will launch a new meteorological satellite later this year to further boost its weather forecasting capabilities, authorities announced on Monday.

According to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the Fengyun-II 09 satellite, the last in the Fengyun-II series, will be able to collect meteorological, maritime, and hydrological data to help weather forecast in China and neighbouring regions, reports Xinhua news agency.

The satellite will be launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province.

Fengyun satellites are a series of remote-sensing meteorological satellites developed by China. 

Fengyun-I and Fengyun-III are polar orbiting weather satellites, while Fengyun-II and Fengyun-IV operate in geostationary orbit.