Measures for AI meteorological application services of China promulgated
On April 23, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) and the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) promulgated a joint departmental regulation, namely, Measures for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Meteorological Application Services (hereinafter referred to as the document), aiming at encouraging and promoting the healthy and well-organized development of AI meteorological application services. The document will be effective as of June 1, 2025.
The document is the first departmental regulation of China to promote and regulate AI application in segmented areas, and the first legal standard on AI meteorological application services among Members of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The document aims to tackle the potential hazards in AI meteorological application services in a science-based manner, and guide its development direction.
The document proposes that AI meteorological application services development shall balance development and security, adhere to the combination of innovation promotion and governance according to law. At the same time, an inclusive and prudent approach shall be taken and classified and grading supervision shall be conducted as to such services.
The document proposes concrete policy support and promoting measures focusing on data openness, algorithm model research and development (R&D), and application scenarios empowerment.It points out that AI shall be further integrated and applied in areas such as meteorological monitoring and early warning, weather forecasting, and numerical weather prediction (NWP)，building AI meteorological application services scenarios.It also set down rules regarding the development and governance of AI application services in the international meteorological field. Based on the document, the national meteorological service under the State Council shall conduct equal and mutually beneficial international cooperation and exchanges, and share China's practice with the global community in the formulation of rules and standards pertaining to AI meteorological application services.
The document also explicitly defines the rights and obligations of AI meteorological application services providers. It stipulates systems in terms of areas such as algorithm registration and security assessments, the labeling of AI-generated synthetic content, algorithm safety review, cyber security, data security, information dissemination review, and complaint reporting.
CMA will advance the "AI +" initiative in meteorological application services by establishing a collaborative development and governance mechanism with multiple stakeholders including enterprises, universities, and research institutions. This concerted endeavor will mobilize resources from all sectors of society to promote AI application and development in meteorology, injecting new vitality into speeding up the development of meteorological science and technology and public services,and promote the high-quality development of meteorology.