Olympic Games Weather

[Kiwi]

Anyone have any useful insights or links re weather or pollution levels at the Olympic games. Beijing seems to have a real pollution problem which no doubt is influenced by the weather.

Is the outlook for smog or sun? :lol:

-- and how about some of the other venues like Qindao (sailing) and Hong Kong (Horsey things) -- any more typhoons on the cards?

[londonsnow]

looks like there may be a few storms in beijing next week which may ease the pollution levels

[multi cellular thunderstorm]

The BBC 5 day forecast should give a good idea of the weather...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/5day.shtml?world=0090

I don't think their visibility forecasts take the smog into account though.

[James M]

Has anyone got any links to any webcams?

[multi cellular thunderstorm]

There doesn't seem to be many about, Camvista wants to set one up but they don't seem to have one yet.

http://www.camvista.com/blog/2008/06/30/be...ic-games-china/

This is the best I can find but you can't see the sky.

http://www.worldcam.pl/en/549,5,1,webcam.html

[Coast]

Has anyone got any links to any webcams?

Delayed and un-animated 'smog watch' shots of the main venues here.

[MAF]

this site has current weather on its home page

http://en.beijing2008.cn/

and here is the link for the co-host cities forecasts

http://en.beijing2008.cn/spectators/weather/

[Coast]

Beijing - A thunderstorm on Thursday played havoc with the Olympic competition programme, forcing organizers to move canoeing and kayaking slalom finals to Friday and also affecting other sports like rowing and tennis. Thursday's whitewater slalom ended after just one race, the first men's C2 semi-final won by Germans Felix Michel and Sebastian Piersig. The other semis and the final, as well the semi-finals and final in the women's K1 event, were moved to Friday.

Rowing was even worse off as the entire semi-final programme was put back one day. However, Friday was always kept as a reserve day with no competition scheduled. 'The rain wasn't the problem but the thunderstorm. We had to cancel everything for safety reasons,' said Arno Boes, spokesman of the world governing rowing body FISA. Rowing also encountered problems in 2004 in Athens when high winds forced the programme to be rearranged several times.

Tennis suffered for the second time at the Games as rain did not allow the start of play on Thursday, four days after most of Sunday's programme had to be scrapped due to heavy rain. Rain is common in August in Beijing and is forecast again for early next week.

Olympic organizers said earlier this week they wanted to stage the Olympics in September, where according to meteorologists the conditions are far better. 'The best time to open an event like this in Beijing is September. That's the beginning of autumn, and many people consider that the best season in Beijing. It's also the time of year when the 1990 Asian Games were held,' said Xie Pu, director of Beijing's Olympics Meteorological Service Center.

But the IOC objected because it would create problems with the international sports calendar, with an agreement in place since 1988 that Olympics should best start in the last week of July or first week of August. Other Olympics have taken place later in the year, with Seoul 1988 and Sydney 2000 taking place in the second half of September.

Source: www.monstersandcritics.com

[Cookie]

I don't want it to happen and im only saying it as an IF!

do the IOC have a back up plan say if china or near Beijing was hit by a hurricane even a small one?

[Somerset Squall]

Well, the games have been free of typhoons so far and I would say the area is pretty safe at the moment- just a couple tropical depressions out there at the moment but nowhere near China.

The area looks to be dry over the next few days though some instabilty may cause some showers as we go though next week. Looks to be breezy over the next few days aswell, if that's the case then smog shouldn't be a problem though this is by no means certain.

Haven't been following the olympics, when do they finish?

[Cookie]

ends a week on sunday