Our day began at exactly 8 o’clock in the morning when our bus went off for our first adventure to Meteorological Observation Centre. Before the center, we made a stop to pick up our Tsinghua peers from the School of Environment building. There were 12 Tsinghua students that joined us. It was our first time meeting in person. Finally, we had one on one conversation in person rather than through the internet. After some introductions, we made our way to the Meteorological Observation Center.
Our guide gave us an introduction of what their center is focused on, meteorology. The study of the atmosphere particularly focused on weather condition to predict the weather is done at this center. It studies the earth as a complex system where various factors of not only the atmosphere but also ocean and land is gathered to forecast the weather. Satellites, aircrafts, radiosondes and buoys are just some of the tools that helps gather data for meteorological observations. With the data gathered, understanding through analysis is the first step. It is then followed by validation of the understandings into creating models to create predictions. Once predictions are created, it is then monitored for its consequences and the cycle starts over again from its first step of understanding. There are 161 staffs with Master’s degree and/or PhD with many experiences in this field that currently runs the Meteorology Observation Center in Beijing. Our guide gave us a tour of their center to further introduce our group to their center.
Meteorological Observation Center Forecasting Weather Machines
The amount of efforts and studies to predict the weather made me rethink all the times I complain about how inaccurate the weather forecast is. Upon our tour of the center, we had a delicious lunch at their cafeteria. We then headed for our next adventure to the Wastewater Treatment Plant right after our lunch. The moment we walked in, we watched a video about how wastewater is treated in Beijing.
Learning about Water Crisis in Beijing and Wastewater Treatment Procedure
Water is a scarce resource in Beijing. An average person on earth uses 8,200 KL of water, while in Beijing an average person uses only 107 KL of water. Individuals in Beijing do not even use 1% of the individuals around the world. There is simply not enough water to go around. Out of all the water in the world, .002% of the water is available for drinking purpose. Due to this, wastewater treatment is necessary for Beijing. Wastewater go through four stage of treatment and it begins with separation of trash from the water.
Stage 3 of Wastewater Treatment
Our guide walked us through the entire stages of the water treatment and though it was spectacular to see, the smell was not pleasing at all. The separation of garbage from the water smelled the worst to the point that I personally could not handle. All the water that are gathered from this plant is then used mainly for agriculture. Our guide reassured us that these water do not get used as drinking water yet it is used to grow the food that we eat. This is because the treated water contains nitrate and phosphorus that are good for our agriculture. Water goes through an intensive amount of treatment before it reaches us. It was a learning experience that made me more appreciative of the water I use on the daily.
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