The Environment 291
Weather forecast and information service
The observatory issues forecasts and warnings of hazardous weather to the public, as well as to the shipping, aviation, transport and logistic communities. It also provides ultra-violet information and location-specific lightning alert services. In 2009, the observatory provided special weather service for the 2009 East Asian Games.
The observatory's Airport Meteorological Office provides weather services for the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and for the Hong Kong Flight Information Region. The world-first Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) windshear alerting system, developed in-house by the observatory, was enhanced with one LIDAR now serving each of the two runways.
Weather information is disseminated to the public through the media, the observatory's website and the automatic Dial-a-Weather System. As one of the most popular government websites, the observatory website registered about 1 600 million page hits in 2009, an increase of about 14 per cent over 2008. The observatory's meteorologists also host regular TV and radio weather programmes and conduct media briefings during adverse weather conditions.
To heighten public alertness towards typhoons and their damaging effects, the observatory introduced in 2009 refined categories of typhoons. They are classified as 'Typhoon', 'Severe Typhoon' or 'Super Typhoon' according to their strength.
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. The observatory's Radiation Laboratory received the ISO 9001:2008 accreditation for its radiation measurement services in 2009.
Climatological Service
The observatory provides climatological information to special users. It also studies climate change and the impact of weather and climate on health. It issues an annual outlook on rainfall and tropical cyclones, as well as seasonal predictions of temperature and rainfall.
Oceanographic Service
The observatory produces an annual tide table for Hong Kong and provides forecasts of wave and swell for mariners as well as warnings for the public of possible storm surges and tsunamis. It gives advice on oceanographic matters to other government departments and the engineering community.
Geophysical Service
The observatory monitors earthquakes, if any, in the vicinity of Hong Kong and around the world. Relevant information is issued through the media and the observatory's website.
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