ENG-2008 — Page 356

288 The Environment

rain. Landslips and flooding sometimes cause considerably more damage than the winds.

The Year's Weather

2008 was exceptional in terms of weather in Hong Kong. The territory experienced the longest cold spell in 40 years from late January to mid-February during which the daily minimum temperature remained below 12 degrees for 24 consecutive days. June 2008 registered a record 1 346 millimetres of rain. Hong Kong also experienced the warmest October in 125 years.

The typhoon season started in mid-April, much earlier than usual. Of the six tropical cyclones which affected Hong Kong, four required the No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal to be hoisted.

Meteorological Services

Hong Kong Observatory

Established in 1883, the Hong Kong Observatory provides a wide range of meteorological, geophysical, oceanographic, astronomical and climatological services. It also monitors environmental radiation, and administers the official time standard for Hong Kong.

Weather Forecast and Information Service

The observatory issues forecasts and warnings of hazardous weather to the public, as well as to special users which include the shipping, aviation, transport and logistic communities. The observatory also provides a location-specific lightning alert service. During the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, it provided special weather services for the Equestrian Events held in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Olympic windsurfing team in Qingdao. Its very short-range forecasting system provided the Beijing Games with weather information, important to the Games.

The observatory's Airport Meteorological Office provides weather services at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and for the Hong Kong Flight Information Region. In 2008, it provided about 152 000 flight documents for aircraft departing from HKIA, about 3 per cent more than in 2007. A special-purpose airport thunderstorm and lightning alerting system was also launched.

Weather information is sent through the media, the automatic Dial-a-Weather System and the observatory's website. The observatory's website continues to be one of the most popular government websites. Over 1 400 million page hits were recorded in 2008, an increase of about 30 per cent over 2007. The observatory's meteorologists also hosted regular TV and radio weather programmes and conducted media briefings during adverse weather conditions.

Radiation Measurement and Assessment

The observatory monitors the ambient radiation levels in Hong Kong and radioactivity in air, soil, water and food. In case of a nuclear alert, it will immediately step up radiation monitoring, assess the radiological consequences and provide technical advice to policy bureaux on action to take.