Tao Shiyan, male, Han nationality, is a native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. He graduated from the Geography Department of Central University in 1942. Tao is considered an expert on meteorology and is a senior academician.
A researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Tao studied atmosphere circulation and weather dynamics. His academic contributions in this field are regarded as leading to the development of weather forecasting in China. Tao also educated other individuals about weather forecasting and researched cold wave and intermittent drizzles during the rainy season in the middle and lower reaches of the Changjiang River.
Tao is also credited with using satellite data for weather analysis and forecasting. He then studied the activity law, mechanism, and forecasting of rainstorms in China. In 1980, he was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.