Meteorology Law of the People's Republic of China (2016 Revision)

Meteorology Law of the People's Republic of China (2016 Revision) Meteorology Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the 12th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on October 31, 1999; amended for the first time at the 10th Session of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress on August 27, 2009 according to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending Some Laws ; amended for the second time at the 10th Session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress on August 31, 2014 according to the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending Five Laws Including the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China ; and amended for the fourth time in accordance with the Decision of Amending Twelve Laws including the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China as adopted at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on Nov. 7, 2016) Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Construction and Management of MeteorologicalFacilities Chapter III Meteorological Observation Chapter IV Meteorological Forecast and Severe Weather Warning Chapter V Prevention of Meteorological Disasters Chapter VI Exploitation and Protection of Climatic Resources Chapter VII Legal Responsibility Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purpose of developing meteorological service, standardizing meteorological activities, ensuring the accurate and timely issue of meteorological forecast, preventing meteorological disasters, properly exploiting and effectively protecting climatic resources, and providing meteorological services for economic development, national defense, social development and people's well-being. Article 2 This Law shall be observed by units and individuals that engage in meteorological observation, forecasting, services, prevention of meteorological disasters, exploitation of climatic resources and research in meteorological science and technology, which are carried out in the territory of the People's Republic of China and the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China. Article 3 Meteorological service is a basic public welfare service for economic development, national defense, social development and people's wellbeing. Public welfare meteorological services shall be the first priority in meteorological work. People's governments at or above the county level shall strengthen their leadership over and coordination of meteorological activities, and incorporate meteorological service into the national economic and social development plans and fiscal budgets of the central and local governments in order to ensure their full function in the service of the general public, in government decision-making and in economic development. Local meteorological projects initiated by local people's governments at or above the county level to meet the needs of local social and economic development shall mainly be financed by the said governments themselves. On condition that unpaid public welfare meteorological services are guaranteed, meteorological offices and stations may provide paid meteorological services in accordance with law. Article 4 Meteorological offices and stations subordinate to the competent meteorological departments of counties or cities shall chiefly serve agricultural production, providing, on their own initiative and in a timely manner, public welfare meteorological information services needed by local agricultural production. Article 5 The competent meteorological department under the State Council is responsible for meteorological work nationwide. Local competent meteorological departments at different levels are responsible for meteorological work in their own administrative regions under the leadership of the competent meteorological departments at a higher level and the people's governments at the corresponding level. Meteorological offices and stations subordinate to the other relevant departments under the State Council or under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be subject to guidance, supervision and professional management by the competent meteorological departments at the same level. Article 6 Units and individuals that engage in meteorological activities shall comply with the meteorological technical standards, rules and regulations formulated by the State. Article 7 The State encourages and supports research in and popularization of meteorological science and technology, trains meteorological professionals, spreads the use of advanced meteorological science and technology, protects the achievements scored in meteorological science and technology, increases international cooperation and exchange in the field of meteorology and develops the meteorological information industry, all in order to improve meteorological work. People's governments at various levels shall pay attention to and support the construction and operation of the meteorological offices and stations in areas inhabited by ethnic peoples, in outlying and poverty-stricken areas, in areas where life is hard, and on islands. Units and individuals that make outstanding contributions in meteorological work shall be rewarded. Article 8 Meteorological activities that organizations and individuals of other countries wish to conduct in the territory of the People's Republic of China and the sea areas under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China shall be subject to approval by the competent meteorological department under the State Council in conjunction with relevant departments. Chapter II Construction and Management of Meteorological Facilities Article 9 The competent meteorological department under the State Council shall make arrangements for relevant departments to work out plans for the construction of key meteorological facilities including meteorological observation instrumentation, transmission devices dedicated to meteorological information and specialized large meteorological equipment. These plans shall be submitted to the State Council for approval before they are implemented. Any readjustment or modification of the plans shall be submitted to the State Council for approval. Plans for the construction of meteorological facilities shall be drawn up in conformity with the principles of a reasonable layout, efficient utilization, and full consideration of both immediate and future needs, so as to avoid duplicated construction. Article 10 Important meteorological facility construction projects shall comply with the requirements of the planning for important meteorological facility construction; and, before the proposals and feasibility reports for the construction of such projects are submitted for approval, the opinions of the competent meteorological department under the State Council and the competent meteorological departments of provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be solicited. Article 11 The State protects meteorological facilities in accordance with law. No organizations or individuals may seize, damage or destroy meteorological facilities, or relocate them without authorization. In cases where meteorological facilities are damaged or destroyed due to force majeure, the local people's governments shall take emergency measures to have them repaired or replaced, in order to ensure their normal operation. Article 12 No organizations or individuals may relocate meteorological offices or stations without legal approval. Where it is definitely necessary to relocate any national reference climatological stations or basic synoptic stations for the implementation of city planning or the construction of key national projects, the matter shall be subject to approval by the competent meteorological department under the State Council. Where it is necessary to relocate other meteorological offices or stations, the matter shall be subject to approval by the competent meteorological department of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government. The unit that needs such construction shall bear the expenses for the relocation and reconstruction. Article 13 Specialized meteorological equipment shall meet the technical requirements specified by the competent meteorological department under the State Council and shall be subject to examination by the said department and its acceptance as qualified. No equipment that is not examined or accepted as qualified may be applied to meteorological operations. Article 14 Instruments for meteorological measurement shall be subject to verification by the institutions for verification of such in......