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The Environment
Time Services
As Hong Kong's official timekeeper, the Observatory maintains a time standard that is accurate to within one-hundred-millionth of a second per day and contributes to the determination of Coordinated Universal Time by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Users can check the time through an online network time service, web clock, Dial-a-Weather and radio stations. The Observatory's internet time service drew a record high of more than 43 billion visits in 2020.
Cooperation with other Meteorological Services
In 2020, the Observatory hosted online the 52nd session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific/WMO Typhoon Committee, which discussed ways to reduce casualties and damage caused by tropical cyclones.
The Observatory, as a Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for Nowcasting designated by the WMO, shared its in-house developed nowcasting system, Swirls, with overseas weather services to help develop and enhance forecasts and warnings of rainstorms and high-impact weather. In collaboration with the WMO, the Observatory added five more official UN languages to the International Cloud Atlas website.
Public Education and Engagement
The Observatory promotes public awareness of hazardous weather, climate change and radiation. During the year, it organised public online courses on weather observation, launched a virtual tour of the Observatory and made available 100 quiz worksheets on the Hong Kong Education City's online Resources Depository to facilitate students' learning amid the pandemic. The Observatory also produced an additional television weather programme on Sunday morning.
The Observatory conducts school and online talks on climate change and radiation, and publishes the latest research findings on climate change and extreme weather on its website. Activities during the year included the launch of a webpage and a music video on the impact of climate change. The Observatory continued to engage students and young people through various outreach events in its 'Science in Public Service' campaign and Community Weather Information Network, including public scientific talks and workshops on community weather stations.
Some of the more than 13,600 'Friends of the Observatory' help support public education. events organised by the Observatory.
Government Laboratory
The Government Laboratory supports the enforcement of environmental protection legislation and implementation of environmental programmes by providing analytical and advisory services. It conducts tests on environmental samples to furnish these programmes with the necessary data. The laboratory also offers analytical services for chemicals regulated under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.
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