Published : 2025-02-16

The famous Chinese meteorologist Lei Yushun (雷雨順) passed away due to overwork-related illness in Beijing on February 16, 1983.

Lei was born in 1935 in Tongchuan, Shaanxi Province. In 1955, he was admitted to the meteorology department of the physics faculty at Beijing University with excellent grades; and in 1965, he was assigned to work at the Central Meteorological Bureau. 

Throughout his life, Lei Yushun dedicated himself to the study of meteorology and made significant contributions to the development of meteorology in China.

Notably, in the field of forecasting disastrous weather events such as heavy rain and hail, he led his team to develop an energy meteorology analysis and forecasting method with Chinese characteristics used for practical disaster weather forecasting.

This greatly improved the accuracy of forecasts for heavy rain and hail, earning him the National Science Conference Award in 1978. His books remain authoritative classics in China's meteorology field to this day.

In the summer of 1972, a hailstorm destroyed what should have been a bountiful wheat field. This event drove Lei Yushun to resolve to unravel the "mystery" of hail.

To this end, he diligently consulted related literature from countries such as Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and France, while also analysing a vast amount of domestic and international data, filling out more than 2,300 cards.

He eventually authored China's first monograph on hail with Chinese characteristics, "Introduction to Hail," offering guidance on improving hail forecasting accuracy and advancing artificial hail suppression.

To this day, Lei Yushun's lifetime spirit of exploration in scientific research continues to inspire generations of meteorologists.