At the Genting Observatory, this group of "post-90s" and "post-00s" are "measuring the temperature" of the earth!

In mid-November, the snow-capped Waliguan Mountain stood tall. Jia Yingzhu, a 2023 graduate of the School of Atmospheric Sciences at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, has been to Waliguan Mountain for the third time. Like the previous two times, he bought delicious food to bring to the staff on duty on the mountain; he also set out from Xining to Waliguan Mountain in Longyangxia Town, Gonghe County, Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province.

The car could no longer go forward when it was about halfway up the mountain. Jia Yingzhu and her colleagues braved the biting cold wind and hiked for 1 hour and 30 minutes to reach the atmospheric background benchmark observatory on the top of the Waliguan Mountain.

29 years ago, the world's highest atmospheric background benchmark observatory was built here. It is the only atmospheric background benchmark observatory in the hinterland of Eurasia, also known as the "observatory on the top of the cloud". The Waliguan Atmospheric Background Benchmark Observatory strictly follows the norms and standards of the World Meteorological Organization for atmospheric background monitoring, and conducts observations in many aspects including greenhouse gases, ozone, aerosols, solar radiation, meteorology and boundary layer meteorology, precipitation chemistry, etc. under global benchmark atmospheric background conditions. It is an important part of the World Meteorological Organization's global atmospheric monitoring program and the only globally representative atmospheric background monitoring station in my country. It provides a scientific basis for studying, evaluating and predicting changes in atmospheric composition and then studying the impact on climate change. The special data and scientific research results obtained by it play an irreplaceable and important role in the global response to climate change.

Born in 2000, Jia Yingzhu just graduated from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology this year. He chose to go to the Waliguan Global Atmospheric Background Benchmark Observatory to pursue his "blue sky dream". Here, more than half of the staff graduated from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. They are in the clouds and down to earth. They take the pulse of the earth and measure the body temperature in Waliguan, and use their youth and passion to protect the original intention and belief of meteorologists.

Ren Lei is a 2018 graduate of the Applied Meteorology major at Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. Since joining the Waliguan Atmospheric Background Reference Observatory, he has done field monitoring in the cloud and also worked in Xining for assessment and analysis. "When I first arrived at Waliguan Mountain, my altitude sickness was particularly severe. I usually couldn't sleep for the first three days, but it would gradually get better after a while," said Ren Lei.

"When I occasionally have self-doubt and anxiety, I will silently tell myself: less daydreaming, more action." When it snowed heavily and the road was blocked, Ren Lei and his colleagues had to carry the supplies to the top of the mountain by manpower. "Just standing there, I felt that the wind could blow us away one by one." Without anyone standing up to organize, everyone would silently carry the supplies, lower their heads, take one deep step and one shallow step, leaving a series of dense footprints on the snow, "There is no need to sing praises of suffering, we all enjoy it."

The Waliguan Atmospheric Background Reference Observatory is an employment and entrepreneurship base for college students of Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology. In September this year, the observatory was also awarded the title of "Two Bombs and One Satellite" Spirit Inheritance Base. Generations of meteorological science and technology workers at the observatory have adhered to the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" spirit of "loving the motherland, selfless dedication, self-reliance, hard work, strong coordination, and courage to climb", and have cultivated patriotism, tempered the will to strengthen the country, and practiced the journey of serving the country in the inheritance and promotion of the red spirit, contributing meteorological power to my country's great cause of responding to climate change and serving the construction of ecological civilization.

"I first heard of the 'Wari Pass Curve' when I was in high school. When I was in college, I heard the name 'Wari Pass' from my seniors." Jia Yingzhu carefully read the relevant information and was very yearning for Wali Pass. When he was a senior, he took the initiative to pay attention to the recruitment information of the Qinghai Provincial Meteorological Bureau. "The reason why I really made up my mind to compete for this position is not only the unique landscape of the Wali Pass Mountain, but more importantly, the hard-working and enterprising spirit of the meteorological workers at Wali Pass gave me plenty of strength."

Shi Wen and Yang Hao are two post-95s observers at the Waliguan Atmospheric Background Reference Observatory. Both are graduates of the Applied Meteorology major of Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology in 2021. Instrument monitoring, regular inspections, gas bottle sampling, ground weather station maintenance... are their daily work. "Any small negligence may lead to irreversible consequences and cause serious misleading to subsequent climate change research and decision-making. There is no room for carelessness."

Even when the outdoor temperature was as low as -10 degrees Celsius, their faces were frozen red, but they still worked meticulously. "This is a kind of responsibility and commitment for me. The current platform is the result of the obscurity and selfless dedication of many teachers. Now the conditions on the mountain are getting better and better, but their spirit of striving for excellence and rigorousness has never changed." Shi Wen said.

"My master Huang Jianqing has been working here since the early days of the Waliguan Atmospheric Background Reference Observatory, and has been working here for decades. He told me that I can learn a lot here, including professional knowledge, hands-on practice, local customs and practices, which are all things that cannot be learned from textbooks." Yang Hao has developed a "work biological clock" for a long time: greenhouse gas sampling is carried out at 8 o'clock every Wednesday morning; the desiccant of the total ozone spectrometer must be replaced every Sunday; and the equipment must be checked every two hours to see if it is still operating normally...

"Climate issues have attracted much attention, especially in the context of 'dual carbon'. I believe that research in the field of atmospheric environment will receive more and more attention in the future. I will also try my best to do my job well and be a good 'temperature measurer' of the earth." Yang Hao said.