XN000022-1995-03-21 — Page 17

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Up to now, the number of callers had increased markedly, by about 60 to 70 per cent over that for the same period last year.

On weather forecasts, he said according to an independent survey, last year the public considered that the forecast accuracy level reached 76 per cent.

"This matched our performance target of 75 per cent in our pledge put out in the beginning of last year."

Airline operators assessed the Observatory's forecasts for aviation to be 98 per cent accurate or very accurate last year and ship captains' assessment of the marine weather forecast accuracy reached 95 per cent.

Organisers of public outdoor events such as the annual Lunar New Year Fireworks Display also found the special forecast services of the Observatory useful for planning purposes and in many cases, helped them to carry out the functions satisfactorily and cost-effectively.

Mr Sham said: "We are not complacent and we will strive to further improve on these services."

The Observatory, which monitors the environmental nuclear radiation in Hong Kong, has been providing daily information on the gamma radioactivity in Hong Kong to the media for the public starting two weeks ago.

"To enhance our capability of real-time monitoring of any atmospheric release from the nuclear power station, the Royal Observatory is in the process of acquiring an aerial monitoring system.

"This system will be fitted into a helicopter of the Hong Kong Government Flying Service which will be flown during a nuclear emergency to help us track any radioactive plume from the power station," he said.

On environmental and geophysical data and consultative services, the Royal Observatory plans to upgrade and expand some observational networks.

"These plans include the expansion of the seismological network within the territory, and the networking of automatic weather stations operated by Guangdong Weather Bureau, Macao Meteorological Observatory and Royal Observatory Hong Kong," he said.