The Belt and Road Trade Meteorological Service Platform, the first of its kind in China, was recently put to work serving a Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe train which set off from Yiwu, Zhejiang province on Dec 18 for Minsk, capital of Belarus.

File photo: Zhejiang News

The train will pass through the Alataw Pass in Xinjiang, where temperatures will drop to minus 10 degrees Celsius. With the new platform, train operators will know the temperature and humidity in advance and to apply thermal insulation film to the goods if necessary.

The platform was jointly developed by the meteorological bureaus of Zhejiang province and its cities and counties. It has served more than 200 China-Europe trains since it was put into trial operation in September.

"The platform has helped save more than 200 million yuan ($28.54 million) in losses for us and our clients," said Li Minghao, general manager assistant of the Yi Tong Ou Logistics Co.

The 11 Yiwu-Xinjiang-Europe train routes pass through many areas with extreme weather conditions, which, according to Li, can not only hamper the trains themselves but also affect the goods they carry.

"If we can't predict the weather and take preventative measures, we risk damaging our goods," Li added.

Zhang Yuling, a local import trader working at the Yiwu International Trade Market, said she has benefited a lot from the platform.

"With the help of the platform, we can negotiate with logistics companies to delay delivery or take measures to protect goods in advance. When the goods are on their way, we can also check local weather conditions in real time," said Zhang.