Weatherman with vision dies, age 98

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The weather forecast we check on a daily basis is accurate largely thanks to a man who contributed to the science of meteorology for more than 60 years -Ye Duzheng, one of the founders of modern meteorology in China.

Ye passed away in Beijing on Oct 16. He was 98.

Ye's funeral was held on Sunday at the Babaoshan Cemetery in Beijing and was attended by his colleagues, friends and students.

Ye was a senior academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of two prizewinners of the National Supreme Scientific and Technological Award in 2005, winner of three National Natural Sciences Award and a number of other Chinese awards. He received the highest award of the 2003 IMO Prize (International Meteorological Organization). He was the first Chinese scientist to receive this prize.

Ye's career in meteorology seemed written in the stars - the year of his birth, 1916, was when China began modern meteorological records.

The person who influenced Ye most could be his doctoral supervisor Carl-Gustaf Rossby at the University of Chicago in the United States, according to Ye's students.

When Ye returned to China in 1950, there were no weather maps in the country - the most basic tool for weather forecasting. The first thing Ye did was establish a team of 10 people to draw the country's first weather map.

In the late 1980s when Ye was over 70 years old, he remained at the forefront of scientific research, and promoted the necessity of researching global climate change.

Ye's proposal received sharp opposition from other experts who thought global climate change would not impact China.

Under Ye's advice, the Chinese National Committee for World Climate Research Program was convened in 1985.

"Since then, China's climate change research has had a good start, and basically kept pace with international research," Li Chongyin, a meteorologist and a senior academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, also Ye's student, said.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.