BEIJING -- The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) chief has sent a letter of congratulations to the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on the release of new indexes for measuring the country's meteorological service standards.

Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the WMO, called the new index an "innovative practice" in the letter. He said the indexes showed the "remarkable progress and great achievements made by CMA in recent years, as well as your roles in contribution to the socio-economic development and well-being of the Chinese people."

The China Meteorological Development Index (MDI) was released Tuesday by China Economic Information Service (CEIS), an affiliate of Xinhua News Agency. The indicator, jointly compiled by CEIS and CMA, evaluates how meteorological services contribute to economic development, disaster prevention, damage reduction and climate research.

The MDI stood at 163.25 in 2016, 63.25 percent higher than in 2011. The increase suggests substantial improvements in weather forecasting, disaster warning, and meteorological services for several sectors.

Taalas spoke highly of China's effort on global meteorological development.

"China has always been one of the major contributors of WMO in the fields of integrated observation, weather forecast and climate prediction, public weather service and early warning, meteorological science and research, education and training," Taalas said.

The WMO recognition shows how the country's meteorological services have improved, and the launch of new weather satellites show ongoing progress.