China deploys Fengyun-4C satellite to assist Nepal after glacial disaster
China has deployed the Fengyun-4C geostationary meteorological satellite to track severe thunderstorms over Nepal and transmit real-time data during search and rescue operations following the destruction of a glacier on the Nepal-China border. This was reported by the South China Morning Post.
Monitoring thunderstorms and precipitation
The Fengyun-4C satellite was launched in December 2025 and positioned at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers above the equator. It is equipped with a Lightning Mapping Imager that captures 500 frames per second and processes 30 gigabits of data every second to identify individual lightning discharges.
According to China’s Xinhua agency, Beijing began cross-border emergency monitoring after the disaster. Lightning information is combined with satellite cloud imagery, data on convection development, precipitation estimates, and measurements from the Fengyun-3G satellite.
Lightning observations allow meteorologists to determine where a thunderstorm is intensifying, how quickly it is moving, and when it may cause flash floods, landslides, or destructive winds. This can help provide more accurate warnings to rescuers and residents in dangerous areas about worsening weather.
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Warning channel for Nepal
China’s National Satellite Meteorological Center has created a dedicated early warning channel for Nepal, through which rapid-scan imagery and lightning information are transmitted to local authorities.
Fengyun-4C is the newest satellite in China’s second-generation geostationary meteorological system. According to Xinhua, its key technical capabilities are two to three times better than those of the previous Fengyun-4B. Together, the two satellites provide rapid scanning with updates within minutes, hyperspectral atmospheric sounding, and round-the-clock lightning monitoring in the Asia-Pacific region.
According to the South China Morning Post, the disaster on August 26 at the China-Nepal border claimed at least 1,280 lives, while more than 5,500 people are still considered missing.
