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The Environment
Marine and Geophysical Services
The Observatory monitors earthquakes and tsunamis in the vicinity of Hong Kong and around the world. It provides earthquake information and tsunami warnings through its website, the media and social media, as well as via SMS and emails for special users. The Observatory publishes the Hong Kong Tide Table annually.
Astronomical Services
The Observatory provides information about astronomical phenomena such as solar and lunar eclipses. It also publishes astronomical almanacs, providing the traditional Chinese calendar and various types of astronomical and geophysical information. In March, the Observatory organised a joint webcast of a partial solar eclipse with the Hong Kong Space Museum, Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre, Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College and Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Solar Tower Camp.
Official Time Standard
As Hong Kong's official timekeeper, the Observatory maintains a time standard that is accurate to within one-ten-millionth of a second per day and contributes to the determination of Coordinated Universal Time by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Time checks are available to the public through an online network time service, web clocks, Dial-a-Weather and radio stations. These services handled about 25 billion time-check requests in 2016.
External Cooperation
During the year, the Observatory signed a tripartite agreement with the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the China Meteorological Administration to jointly establish an Asian Aviation Weather Centre, with Hong Kong serving as the backup centre.
The World Meteorological Organisation entrusted the Observatory with developing a web- based version of the International Cloud Atlas as an authoritative standard reference for weather
observations, scheduled to be launched in March 2017.
Public Education
The Observatory promotes public awareness of hazardous weather and understanding of climate change through outreach activities. In 2016, it staged in collaboration with other government departments and partners under the 'Science in the Public Service' campaign a roving exhibition, 'Climate Change Our Response, at more than 10 venues, attracting over 100,000 visitors. A virtual tour of the exhibition was made available online.
The Observatory works with schools and the community to promote weather education through its Community Weather Information Network, a joint initiative with Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong that encourages residents to share weather photos and observations. 'Friends of the Observatory, which had more than 11,000 members, celebrated its 20th anniversary during the year.
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