The China Meteorological Administration (CMA) will set up a mobile meteorological observatory at Mount Everest Base Camp to provide accurate weather forecasts for the visit of the Olympic torch in 2008.

A group of weathermen will be sent to Mount Everest next month for rehearsals, the administration announced on Friday.

The flame is expected to reach Everest from the southern slope and will then be carried down along the northern slope with the whole process being televised, according to the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG).

A national climate observatory is expected to be built near Mount Everest to track long-term climate change, according to the CMA.

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2007)