HONG KONG : THE FACTS

Hong Kong Observatory

The Hong Kong Observatory is a government department exchanges real-time data with other meteorological centres
responsible for monitoring and forecasting weather, as well as worldwide and receives cloud pictures from a variety of weather
issuing warnings on weather-related hazards. The Observatory satellites.
also monitors and assesses radiation levels in Hong Kong, and
The Observatory uses computer models to simulate and predict the
provides other meteorological and geophysical services to meet
evolution of weather systems over East Asia and the western North
the needs of the public and the shipping, aviation, industrial and
Pacific. The model results form the basis for forecasting the weather
engineering sectors. The Observatory’s vision is to be a model of
in Hong Kong and the adjacent seas, as well as for providing the public
excellence in protecting lives and building together a better society
with weather forecasts in fine spatial and temporal resolution. For
through science. Service development is based on the core
local weather, apart from providing weather forecast up to 9 days
values represented by the seven letters that make up the word
ahead, the Observatory also operates "Automatic Regional Weather
“SCIENCE”.
Forecast" webpage to provide hourly weather forecast generated by
computer models for various locations in Hong Kong and the Pearl
Corporate video of the River Delta region up to 9 days ahead, along with Extended Outlook
Hong Kong products that provide the probabilities of daily minimum and
Observatory
maximum temperature and mean sea level pressure in the next 14
days and tropical cyclone tracks in the coming 9 days. The “Regional
Information on Heavy Rain and Thunderstorm” webpage provides the
affected regions mentioned in “Announcement on Localised Heavy
Rain”, “Special Announcement on Flooding in the northern New
Territories” or “Thunderstorm Warning”, as well as the recorded
regional rainfall and lightning locations. The Location-specific
https://www.hko.gov.hk/ Lightning Alert Webpage (LLAW) also displays lightning and relevant
abouthko/aboutus.htm information through a one-stop Geographical Information System.
The “Earth Weather” webpage provides an interactive display of
computer forecast model products, allowing members of the public
Weather Services: The Observatory provides weather services to to easily appreciate the large-scale weather changes in the Asia-
the public, fishermen, shipping community, the aviation sector, as Pacific region.
well as other special users. Through special arrangements, it also
provides tailored meteorological support for major activities such as
fireworks display and sporting events. The Observatory is certified
to the International Organization for Standardization ISO 9001:2015
Quality Management Systems for its public weather forecasting and
warning services.

“Earth Weather” webpage

The Observatory staff providing round-the-clock meteorological services The Observatory has developed a nowcasting system called SWIRLS
The Observatory operates a range of weather monitoring (Short-range Warning of Intense Rainstorms in Localized Systems),
equipment, including a territory-wide network of automatic utilizing data from radars, rain gauges and lightning sensors, together
weather stations for measuring wind, pressure, temperature, with the results of computer simulation, to provide forecasts of
humidity and rainfall, a network of cameras and visibility meters rainstorms and the associated inclement weather in the following 6
for providing real-time weather photos and visibility readings, a hours. In addition to supporting weather forecast and warning
lightning location network for detecting lightning and two Doppler operations, SWIRLS also provides 2-hour rainfall and 1-hour lightning
weather radars for detecting the intensity and movement of rain nowcast to the public through the Observatory’s website and the
areas. The Observatory’s upper air measurement, automatic mobile app “MyObservatory”. The Observatory was designated by
wind and temperature measurement services are certified to the the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a Regional
standard of the International Organization for Standardization ISO Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) for Nowcasting, providing
9001:2015 Quality Management Systems. The Observatory also meteorological organisations in the Asian region with products and
techniques related to nowcasting of high-impact weather events. weather briefing services to air traffic controllers regularly, which
will be extended to other aviation users as well in inclement weather
situations. The Observatory also serves as the Backup Asian
Aviation Meteorological Centre (AAMC) to provide en-route
hazardous weather information of the region and improve aviation
safety and efficiency.
The Observatory provides marine meteorological services to
international shipping, fishing and oil drilling activities in coastal
waters as well as water sports activities offshore. Under the
Voluntary Observing Ships' Scheme of the World Meteorological
Organization, the Observatory operates a fleet of locally based
voluntary weather observing ships to collect weather observations at
seas for meteorological organizations worldwide. The Observatory
also collaborated with shipping community to deploy drifting buoys
in the South China Sea and western North Pacific to strengthen
marine meteorological observation.
“Regional Information on Heavy Rain and Thunderstorm” webpage
Radiation Monitoring and Assessment: The Observatory
Weather information, forecasts and warnings on hazardous weather
monitors the ambient radiation levels in Hong Kong and conducts
for the public are delivered and broadcast through a variety of
radiological measurements on samples of air, soil, water and food.
dissemination channels, including the Observatory’s website
Its radiation measurement services are certified to the standard of
(https://www.hko.gov.hk and https://www.weather.gov.hk), mobile
the International Organization for Standardization ISO 9001:2015
app “MyObservatory” on smartphones and Windows 10 desktop, the
Quality Management Systems. In the unlikely event of a nuclear
187 8200 Dial-a-weather service, press, radio, TV, the Observatory’s
emergency at the nuclear power stations in Guangdong, the
YouTube channel as well as social-networking platforms such as the
Observatory will immediately step up radiation monitoring, assess
Observatory’s Facebook page and “hk.observatory” Instagram
the radiological consequences and provide technical advice to the
platform. The Observatory’s website is also available with a
government regarding the appropriate protective actions to take.
personalized version (https://my.weather.gov.hk) to facilitate users to
customize the contents.
The Observatory provides free self-produced television weather Time Standard, Geophysical and Climatological Services:
programmes, including a weekly educational feature named “Cool Met The Observatory maintains a caesium beam atomic clock as the
Stuff”, for public broadcast on televisions, YouTube, the Observatory’s Hong Kong time standard. Time checks are provided through
Facebook page and the “MyObservatory” mobile app. Radio network time services, Internet clocks, the Dial-a-weather service
interviews on the latest weather situation are also conducted by and a local radio station. Meanwhile, the Observatory
forecasters and weather service officers of the Observatory. contributes time information to the International Bureau of
Weights and Measures (BIPM) in France for the determination of
the Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Observatory staff conducting Observatory staff performing

radiological survey seismic analysis
Weather programme presentation by The Observatory operates a network of seismograph stations and
professional meteorologist of the collects real-time data from numerous seismograph stations around
Observatory
the world to monitor earthquake activities and to provide
“MyObservatory” mobile earthquake information services, including the dissemination of
app Quick Earthquake Messages through Twitter, Weibo and RSS. It
also operates a network of tide gauges to provide information on
The Observatory’s Airport Meteorological Office (AMO) which is tides, mean sea levels, storm surges and tsunamis. The
ISO 9000 certified since 2002 provides meteorological services Observatory issues warnings in the unlikely event that tsunamis may
required by international air navigation to the Hong Kong affect Hong Kong.
International Airport (HKIA) and for the Hong Kong Flight
Information Region. In particular, the Observatory operates a For climate services, the Observatory operates the “Climatological
sophisticated network of weather sensors, including terminal Information Services” webpage which provides the public and
Doppler weather radar(s), LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) users in different sectors with one-stop-shop online access to
systems and weather buoys, as well as in-house developed various climate information and statistics of Hong Kong, the latest
meteorological systems for automatic alerting of windshear, climate news and educational resources on climate subjects. The
turbulence, lightning and other severe weather. Extensive weather Observatory also actively collaborates with stakeholders and
information required by the aviation community, including flight partners to enhance the usage of climate information in different
documentation required for flights departing from HKIA and areas, including engineering projects, town planning, water
significant convection forecast in support of air traffic flow resources management, scientific research, energy saving and
management, is provided through the Aviation Meteorological disaster risk reduction.
Information Dissemination System website and the electronic flight The Observatory issues predictions of the annual rainfall and the
bag mobile weather application “MyFlightWx”. AMO also provides total number of tropical cyclones affecting Hong Kong in the year.
It also issues seasonal forecasts of temperature and rainfall of
Hong Kong via its website. The Observatory also conducts
researches on climate change impacts to Hong Kong, and through
the “Climate Change” webpage summarizes the past and projected
climate trends in the global as well as local contexts and provides
the latest updates and relevant data on climate change issues.
To promote public awareness of climate change, natural disasters,
and the Observatory’s services, outreach activities such as public
talks, seminars, courses, and exhibitions, including the annual
Open Day, are regularly organized. Publicity and public
educational materials, Observatory’s Blog and Weather Note are
also produced. Through the “Science in the Public Service”
campaign, the Observatory also joins forces with other
government bureaux/departments to enhance the public’s
understanding of the application of science and technology in the
provision of public services.

Hong Kong Observatory’s Open Day

© Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government
2019