Seventieth IMO Prize Award Ceremony

H.E. Dr Abdulla Al Mandous, President of the World Meteorological Organization,

Ambassador JIA Guide,

Academician Xu Jianmin, 

Distinguished Members of the Executive Council, Colleagues and friends,

It is a great honour to present the recipient of the seventieth International Meteorological Organization Prize: Academician Xu Jianmin.

As President Al Mandous just noted, the IMO prize celebrates not only scientific excellence, but a lifetime of service to knowledge, service to cooperation, and service to society.

Today, we honour a scientist whose work has helped transform the way we observe our planet from space.

Academician Xu Jianmin was not only a founder of China’s Fengyun meteorological satellite programme, but also one of the key figures who connected it with the international community. From the early stage of Fengyun satellite applications, he saw clearly that China’s satellite meteorology should not develop in isolation. He promoted international strategic consultation, supported the introduction and translation of important international works, and encouraged Chinese scientists to take part in global exchanges. He made indispensable contributions to linking Fengyun satellite applications closely with WMO’s space programme.

This is a remarkable legacy.

Academician Xu dedicated his career to making satellite data useful, reliable and operational. Under his leadership, Fengyun satellite applications evolved into operational services that strengthened observation, forecasting and decision-making.

Mr Xu’s contribution has always been directed towards practical impact.

This is science serving people. Through the Fengyun satellites, observations have supported West Asia, East Africa and the Indian Ocean region. The repositioning of Fengyun 2H helped fill an important gap in geostationary satellite coverage over the Indian Ocean, supporting the WMO-sponsored Indian Ocean Data Coverage programme.

But colleagues, I would also like to say something about the person behind these achievements.

Xu Jianmin was not only a builder of systems. He was a builder of people.

Academician Xu’s support for young talent was not expressed through words alone, but through years of quiet, consistent practice. He often reminded young people that “meteorological science is not scholarship confined to the study.” For him, the real classroom was the weather itself.

Week after week, he would sit with his younger colleagues to review satellite cloud images of extreme weather events — typhoons, severe convective systems, complex meteorological processes. For him, each image was not just a picture. It was a scientific question waiting to be understood.

And his curiosity did not stop at the office door.

Whenever he travelled by air, he would bring his camera and photograph the clouds along the flight route — then compare those images with satellite observations.  

Academician Xu Jianmin’s character lies in the broader qualities that shaped him as a scientist: his scientific discipline and rigorousness, his philosophical way of thinking, and his rich personal interests.

He believed deeply that no difficulty was beyond reach if one was willing to devote enough effort to it. This conviction was reflected in the way he approached scientific and technical challenges: with patience, persistence and confidence that even the most complex problems could be understood and eventually solved. This is also reflected in his love for nature and music. His admiration for Bach’s music, with its rigorous structure and mathematical precision, is a reflection of his character.

His achievements are widely recognized. He has authored major scientific and technical publications, translated five books, received several national honours, and was elected Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 1997.

Colleagues,

Xu Jianmin's career embodies a principle we hold dear at WMO: that the systems built with care and vision become part of the global public good. He combined scientific depth with operational purpose. He contributed to innovation, but also to continuity. He helped build systems that endure — that support better forecasts, better warnings, and better decisions.

And he invested in the next generation — because he understood that the most durable legacy a scientist can leave is not a satellite, but a student who knows how to see.

Dear Academician Xu,

On behalf of WMO, I thank you for your outstanding dedication to meteorological science, technology and services.

It is our great honour to celebrate you today as the seventieth laureate of the International Meteorological Organization Prize. Please join me in warmly congratulating Academician Xu Jianmin.