ENG-2020 — Page 293

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The Environment

The Observatory issues weather forecasts and warnings, and offers professional advice to government departments and the aviation, shipping, engineering and other sectors. For instance, it provides aviation weather services to the airport and the Hong Kong Flight Information Region, offers flight crew the latest inflight weather information through its 'MyFlightWx' mobile application, and issues forecasts of wind, weather, waves and swells for the marine community and container terminals. Warnings are issued when tropical cyclones cause storm surges. The Observatory continued to deploy drifting buoys in the South China Sea and western North Pacific to obtain more weather data over the sea surface, and launched the first balloon-borne radiosonde to measure upper-air water vapour profile.

Climate Services and Studies

The Observatory provides government departments and those involved in areas such as disaster prevention, risk reduction and public health with 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 forecasts of seasonal temperature and rainfall. It also conducts research on past trends and future projections of temperature, rainfall, sea level and extreme weather in Hong Kong and provides the latest climate change information and scientific input to government departments in support of initiatives to combat climate change.

Radiation Monitoring and Assessment

The Observatory monitors ambient radiation levels in Hong Kong and measures the amount of radioactivity in environmental samples, enhancing its monitoring and assessment capabilities through collaboration with Mainland and international counterparts. In the unlikely event of a nuclear incident, the Observatory would 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. Information on radiation levels and the latest developments would be provided to the public through various channels. In 2020, replacement of the automatic gamma spectrometry system at Ping Chau and refurbishment of the Monitoring and Assessment Centre were completed to enhance operational efficiency.

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 Observatory recorded three locally felt earthquake tremors, with the most received relating to an earthquake of magnitude 3.4, which occurred on 5 January near Zhuhai.

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. The Observatory conducted a joint webcast of the partial solar eclipse on 21 June with the Hong Kong Space Museum, the Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre and the Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College, attracting over 900,000 users through the Observatory's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

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