China's Fengyun-4C satellite, the world's most powerful lightning hunting and imaging device, is providing real-time weather information to support the rescue operation after the flash flood in Nepal.
According to Xinhua news agency, just hours after the glacial landslide and flash flood disaster occurred on August 26, China launched an emergency weather monitoring operation, mobilizing geostationary satellite Phong Van-4C to monitor storms across Nepal to issue timely warnings to search and rescue forces.
Phong Van-4C was launched in December 2025 and is currently operating on equatorial orbit at an altitude of 36,000km. This device is considered the world's most powerful geostationary weather satellite thanks to its lightning map recording system (LMI) capable of capturing 500 frames per second and processing 30 gigabits of data per second to accurately identify each individual lightning beam, like a "divine eye" from space looking down.
The China National Satellite Meteorological Center has so far established a dedicated early warning channel for Nepal, broadcasting live rapid scanning images and lightning information to local authorities, helping them better understand which areas are at risk of floods, landslides or storms.
Feng Yun-4C is the latest member of China's second-generation geostationary weather satellite team, with core technical capabilities 2-3 times superior to its predecessor Feng Yun-4B. These two satellites are currently operating in parallel, providing fast scanning at the minute-by-minute level, superspectral atmosphere exploration and 24/7 continuous lightning monitoring across the entire Earth's hemisphere below.
