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The Environment

incident, the Observatory will step up its radiation monitoring activities, work with other government departments to provide decision makers with an assessment of radiological consequences and advise on actions to take. Relevant information on radiation levels and the latest developments will be provided to the public through various channels. In 2018, the Observatory continued to work on replacing a monitoring system and equipment as well as enhancing emergency communication and data management systems. Its ambient gamma radiation measurement service was accredited with ISO 9001:2015 certification.

Marine and Geophysical Services

The Observatory monitors earthquakes and tsunamis in the vicinity of Hong Kong and round the world. It provides earthquake information and tsunami warnings through its website, the media and social media, as well as via SMS and email for registered users. The Hong Kong Tide Table is published annually.

Astronomical Services

The Observatory provides information about astronomical phenomena such as solar and lunar eclipses. It publishes astronomical almanacs, which contain the traditional Chinese calendar as well as astronomical and geophysical information. In January and July, the Observatory organised joint webcasts of two total lunar eclipses with Hong Kong Space Museum, Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre, Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College and Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Solar Tower Camp, attracting about 70,000 page views in total.

Official Time Standard

As Hong Kong's official timekeeper, the Observatory maintains a time standard that is accurate to within one-hundred-millionth of a second per day and contributes to the determination of Coordinated Universal Time by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. Public users can check the time through an online network time service, web clocks, Dial-a-Weather and radio stations.

External Cooperation

In 2018, the Observatory signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) to strengthen meteorological cooperation, including supporting the WMO's initiative to establish a Global Multi-hazard Alert System (GMAS) for users round the world. The Observatory also launched the WMO's GMAS for Asia, an online platform developed jointly with the China Meteorological Administration to aggregate weather warnings in Asia. The Observatory was designated by the WMO as a Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for Nowcasting and a Testbed for Doppler Light Detection and Ranging Systems for aviation application.

The Observatory also signed memoranda on meteorological cooperation with Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. In July, the Asian Aviation Meteorological Centre, established jointly with the Civil Aviation Administration of China and China Meteorological Administration, started operation to support en-route hazardous weather warning services and improve aviation safety and efficiency.

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