THE ENVIRONMENT
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temperature of 36.1°C on that day equalled the absoluted maximum set 90 years ago. Its monthly mean relative humidity of 75 per cent was also the lowest for August. The monthly total rainfall of 150.1 millimetres was 64 per cent below normal.
September was relatively cloudy and wet. The monthly rainfall of 409.9 millimetres was 28 per cent above normal. Over half the month's rainfall could be attributed to the passage of Typhoon Dot over southern China. The heaviest downpour occurred on September 10, causing flooding and landslips.
October was sunnier than usual. The mean atmospheric pressure of 1 015.7 hectopascals was the seventh highest for the month of October. The monthly rainfall of 100.7 milli- metres was 17 per cent below normal.
November was windy and relatively cloudy. The Strong Monsoon Signal was hoisted on three occasions. It was still comparatively warm with a monthly mean minimum temperature of 20.4°C, the fifth highest on record.
December was warmer and sunnier than normal. The monthly mean temperature of 18.8°C was 1.1 degrees above normal, while the total duration of sunshine, 218.7 hours, was 22 per cent higher than normal. Only 0.1 millimetre of rain was recorded during the whole month.
Geophysical, Oceanographic and Other Services
The Royal Observatory carries out geophysical and oceanographic studies and its professional advice is regularly sought by consultants working on government or private projects. When an engineering project demands substantial data collection and analysis over a prolonged period, special teams may be organised to tackle the tasks.
A climatological information service is provided by the observatory to meet the needs of the general public and to cater to the specialised interests of shipping, aviation, agri- culture, fishery, engineering, industries, judicial proceedings and recreational planning. Measurements of rainfall and water loss as a result of evaporation and the analysis of these measurements are undertaken for various applications in connection with water resources planning, drainage design, water quality control, reservoir design and operation, irriga- tion, and hydrological forecasting. Spectral analysis is applied to wave data to derive information useful to engineering design work, and mathematical models are used to elicit the return period of maximum sea levels at locations within bays and inlets. The results are useful for the design of marinas, and for coastal engineering and reclamation programmes.
The observatory is also responsible for co-ordinating and formulating technical emer- gency advice should an accidental release of radioactivity occur at the Daya Bay nuclear power station. For such emergencies, the Monitoring and Assessment Centre (MAC) has been established to co-ordinate a multi-departmental food and water monitoring programme, assess the consequences and advise government on countermeasures that may be necessary. The MAC can also command intensive reporting of real-time ambient gamma dose rates over the territory and send out radiological survey teams to make on-site measurements. Using meteorological information routinely available in the department, the MAC can assess the dispersion and deposition of radioactivity over the territory. These activities are complementary to the on-going programme of background radioactivity measurements which supports the emergency functions of the MAC and entails regular collection of air, water, soil and food samples for radioactivity level measurements, Alpha spectrometry, liquid scintillation and gamma spectrometry. The purpose is to establish and
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