XN000022-1983-05-22 — Page 7

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SUNDAY, MAY 22, 1983

OPERATING 35 800 KILOMETRES ABOVE THE EQUATOR AT 140 DEGREES EAST, THE SATELLITE CONTINUALLY MONITORS THE CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS OVER THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION.

+THIS EXTENSIVE COVERAGE CAN GIVE WEATHER FORECASTERS A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGHOUT THE REGION, + MR LAU EXPLAINED.

THIS OVERALL VIEW IS IMPORTANT IN WEATHER FORECASTING AS LOCAL WEATHER CONDITIONS CANNOT BE ISOLATED FROM THE GLOBAL WEATHER SYSTEMS, HE STRESSED.

+SMALL CUMULUS CLOUDS, VOLCANO ERUPTIONS AND SEA FOG CAN ALSO BE DETECTED BECAUSE OF THE SHARPNESS OF THE IMAGERIES,+ MR LAU EXPLAINED.

+BY ANALYSING THE SATELLITE IMAGERIES, WE CAN DETECT AND TRACK SEVERE WEATHER PHENOMENA, SUCH AS TROPICAL CYCLONES AND THUNDERSTORMS, HE SAID,

THE SATELLITE GROUND RECEIVING STATION CAN ALSO DISPLAY A SERIES OF IMAGERIES IN ANIMATION ON A TELEVISION SCREEN.

+BY OBSERVING THE SERIES -- WHICH REPRESENTS THE MOVEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENT OF WEATHER SYSTEMS OVER A PERIOD OF TIME HONG KONG S METEOROLOGISTS CAN TRACK TROPICAL CYCLONES ANYWHERE IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC AND THE SOUTH CHINA SEA REGION, MR LAU ADDED.

THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY IS ALSO EQUIPPED WITH A WEATHER RADAR FOR MONITORING PRECIPITATION, THUS PROVIDING INSTANT INFORMATION ON RAINFALL WITHIN THE RADIUS OF 240 NAUTICAL MILES FROM FEI NGO SHAN.

+BY STUDYING THE PATTERN AND INTENSITY OF RADAR ECHOES, OUR WEATHERMEN CAN BETTER ESTIMATE AND FORECAST THE DURATION AND AMOUNT OF RAINFALL AROUND HONG KONG,+ MR LAU SAID.

THE USE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, EQUIPMENT AND TELECOMMUNICATION FACILITIES HAS TURNED HONG KONG INTO A MAJOR GLOBAL CENTRE FOR THE EXCHANGE OF WEATHER INFORMATION.

WITHIN ASIA, THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY IS NOW LINKED DIRECTLY TO BEIJING BY LAND LINE, TOKYO BY SUBMARINE CABLE AND BANGKOK BY SATELLITE,

+ IN EXCHANGE FOR OUR WEATHER INFORMATION, THESE THREE CENTRES RELAY THEIRS TO US ROUND THE CLOCK, HE SAID.

TODAY, 2 500 METEOROLOGICAL STATIONS AROUND THE WORLD EXCHANGE WEATHER DATA WITH HONG KONG, COMPARED WITH ONLY ABOUT 100 IN THE LATE 1940'S.

THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY NOW USES COMPUTERS TO PROCESS, ANALYSE AND STORE THE VAST POOL OF GLOBAL WEATHER INFORMATION.

+WITH ALL THESE DATA AND CAPABILITY, WE ARE IN A MUCH BETTER POSITION TODAY TO FORECAST GENERAL WEATHER CONDITIONS AND ISSUE TIMELY WARNINGS ON TROPICAL CYCLONES AND OTHER HAZARDOUS WEATHER,+ MR LAU SAID.

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