LHASA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has built 490 automatic meteorological observatories to improve the region's weather monitoring and forecasting abilities, according to local authorities.

The climate in Tibet is complicated. For years, the region has faced great difficulties in preventing meteorological disasters due to the lack of observation stations.

The observatories, which began construction in May this year, now cover 685 impoverished townships in the region.

Locals from poor households will be trained to maintain and manage the meteorological stations, which will offer them an extra source of income.

Official data show that the number of meteorological monitoring stations in Tibet now stands at 875. The coverage rate of surface meteorological monitoring stations has increased from an average of 0.3 per 10,000 square km in 2004 to 6.2 today.