BEIJING, March. 11 -- The sandstorm that swept through most parts of northern China on Friday was accurately forecast, although this kind of accuracy does not prevent some TV viewers from complaining.

    However, they are not worried about what is being said; it is the way it is presented that they do not like.

    Weather forecasts on some public TV channels are "trying too hard to be entertaining," said Liang Rongxin, a meteorological professor of Northeast China Agricultural University. There are also too many commercials during forecasts, he added.

    Liang was in Beijing attending the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top national advisory body.

    "Some hosts of weather forecast programmes are copying their counterparts in entertainment shows," said the scientist.

    But weather forecasting is a science, not entertainment, he added.

    It is not an uncommon scene on some of the country's most popular TV channels to see young women wearing fashionable clothes read out forecasts in an affectedly sweet voice. Some say the women have actually increased interest among young people in meteorology.

    The several-minute-long TV forecasts are often divided into two or more parts with commercials popping up during intervals.

    "TV stations are forcing people who just want to know whether it will rain tomorrow to watch annoying commercials in a programme meant for public interest," said Liang.

    However, some people believe Liang has focused on a trivial matter in which the government should not intervene.

    "He doesn't like the girls but many other people like them," said 27-year-old Li Tianfeng. "As a government advisor, he should not criticize something that is against his taste at such an important national political event," he added.

    "Liang is attending the session paid for by taxpayers' money. But he is harming its efficiency by raising a topic about sexy girls in five-minute TV programmes," said 36-year-old businessman Xu Tao.

    "My friends and I want him to talk about more significant and urgent issues such as healthcare, unemployment and education.

    "Only by doing so is he fulfilling his duty as a government advisor." he said.

    But many people agree with Liang on the sexy girls/weather forecast subject.

    "Those weather girls nag too much," said Song Xin, a banker in Beijing.

    Wang Aixin, a housewife in Nanjing, said: "Some of them don't even have basic meteorological knowledge."

    A weather forecast service should not be profit-oriented, said Zhang Dasheng, a magazine editor in Beijing.

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)