SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 1991
RO EXPANDS ITS DIAL-A-WEATHER SERVICE
FROM JUNE 1 ONWARDS, WEATHER BULLETINS FOR THE SOUTH CHINA COASTAL WATERS ARE AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY "DIAL-A-WEATHER" SERVICE.
FISHERMEN AND THOSE ENGAGED IN ACTIVITIES TAKING PLACE IN THE COASTAL WATERS MAY DIAL 369 5001 AND 369 3970 FOR TAPE RECORDING MESSAGES IN CANTONESE AND ENGLISH RESPECTIVELY.
THE BULLETINS INCLUDE BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE GENERAL
SEA SITUATION OVER THE REGION, DETAIL FORECASTS FOR THE
AREAS ALONG THE SOUTH CHINA COAST AND AN OUTLOOK OF THE WEATHER CONDITIONS FURTHER AHEAD.
TIDE PREDICTIONS FOR HONG KONG ARE ALSO GIVEN TO PLAN THEIR SWIMMING, FISHING AND SAILING ACTIVITIES.
HELP PEOPLE
WAS
DATED BACK ΤΟ JULY 1985, THE DIAL-A-WEATHER SERVICE INTRODUCED TO PROVIDE A WEATHER INFORMATION SERVICE, BOTH IN CANTONESE AND ENGLISH, TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC SO THAT THEY COULD OBTAIN THE LATEST LOCAL WEATHER FORECASTS BY MAKING A SIMPLE TELEPHONE CALL.
MACHINES
WERE
USED
ANSWERING AT FIRST, SIMPLE CASSETTE-TAPE AND THE SERVICE HANDLED A FEW HUNDRED CALLS PER DAY.
WITH THE DIAL-A-WEATHER SRRVICE BECOMING MORE POPULAR, THE NUMBER OF CALLS EXCEEDED 8,000 PER DAY BY THE END OF LAST YEAR.
A NEW AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE ANSWERING SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR.
WEATHER INFORMATION MESSAGES ARE STORED IN SOLID-STATE MEMORY IN THE NEW SYSTEM.
WITH A MUCH FASTER RESPONSE TIME, MORE CALLS ARE HANDLED BY ON A EACH TELEPHONE LINE. CURRENTLY, ABOUT 13,000 CALLS ARE RECEIVED TYPICAL DAY.
THE MAIN FUNCTION OF THE DIAL-A-WEATHER SYSTEM 13 ΤΟ SUPPLY THE LATEST LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST, WARNING STATUS AND TEMPERATURE READINGS AT VARIOUS PLACES OVER THE TERRITORY.
WHEN TROPICAL CYCLONE WARNING SIGNALS ARE HOISTED, SIGNAL STATUS AND THE POSITION AND MOVEMENT OF ARE ANNOUNCED INSTEAD.
THE
THE LATEST TROPICAL CYCLONE
THE TELEPHONE NUMBERS FOR THE CANTONESE AND ENGLISH ARE 369 2200 AND 369 0066 RESPECTIVELY.
CHANNELS