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The Environment

Meteorological and Geophysical Services

Hong Kong Observatory

Established in 1883, the Observatory provides meteorological, climatological, radiation. monitoring, oceanographic, geophysical, time and astronomical services.

Weather Forecasting and Information Services

The Observatory publicises weather information through the media, mobile application MyObservatory, Observatory website, Windows desktop application Weather Wizard, social media and Dial-a-Weather telephone service. It produces regular weather television programmes and an educational series, Cool Met Stuff, for free for Hong Kong's major television networks and other media. In 2017, the online information services, including MyObservatory, exceeded 160 billion page views and the YouTube channel accumulated more than 18 million views.

During the year, the Observatory enhanced the Hong Kong Heat Index information service by providing real-time data collected at Beas River in Sheung Shui, in addition to data collected at King's Park. Weather outlook services were extended to give probability forecasts of daily minimum and maximum temperatures for the next 14 days and of tropical cyclone tracks up to nine days ahead. The 'Met on Map'web portal began publishing additional weather information, including the heat index and high-resolution satellite images.

The Observatory issues weather forecasts and warnings, and offers professional advice to government departments and the aviation, shipping, engineering and other sectors. It provides aviation weather services for the Hong Kong International Airport and the Hong Kong Flight Information Region, and issues forecasts of wind, weather, waves and swells for the marine community and container terminals. Warnings are disseminated when tropical cyclones cause storm surges. In an ongoing collaboration with the Government Flying Service, a meteorological dropsonde system collects meteorological profile data over the South China Sea when conditions allow, to strengthen the analysis and forecasting of tropical cyclones. At the end of 2017, the Observatory launched MyFlightWx, the world's first electronic flight bag weather application developed by a meteorological authority to provide flight crews with the latest weather information. It marks the first time that graphical meteorological data can be transmitted directly to aircraft in flight.

Climate Services and Climate Change Related Studies

The Observatory provides climatological information and predictions, including updates of phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña, an annual outlook on rainfall and the number of tropical cyclones affecting Hong Kong, and projections of seasonal temperature and rainfall. Climate services offered to government departments and stakeholders cover disaster risk reduction, public health, water resources, urban planning and energy. The Observatory also conducts research on past trends and future projections of temperature, rainfall, sea level and extreme weather in Hong Kong, based on the latest assessment of global warming by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and provides the latest climate change information and assessment in support of policymaking and initiatives to combat climate change. In 2017, the Observatory published wet-bulb temperature projections on its climate change webpage and worked with Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) to produce and broadcast a 13-episode live radio series, Climate Watcher. In recognition of the work, the World

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