Innovate with science, serve with heart
28 July 2019
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) issued the first tropical cyclone warning signal of this year on 2 July. During the hot and humid summer months, Hong Kong is particularly prone to typhoons. Last year, a total of six tropical cyclones hit Hong Kong, including super typhoon Mangkhut, during which the typhoon signal No. 10 was in effect for ten hours. It is expected that there will be four to seven tropical cyclones coming within 500 km of Hong Kong this year.
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Many people are curious about the application of technology by the HKO in making weather forecasts. Two weeks ago (on 15 July), I visited the HKO, together with four secondary students joining the “Be a Government Official for a Day” programme and three undergraduates joining the HKSAR Government’s Summer Internship Programme, to learn more about the latest development in enhancing Hong Kong’s preparedness for natural disasters by providing meteorological and related services through science and partnership.
We were given a tour of the Central Forecasting Office, the heart of the HKO, by the Director of the HKO, Mr SHUN Chi-ming, and some other professionals. They briefed us on the HKO’s round-the-clock weather forecast services provided for the public and the aviation, shipping, industrial and engineering sectors, as well as their work on monitoring radiation levels.
Climate change affects all of us in one way or another. Like many of you, I am used to checking the latest weather forecasts through the mobile app “MyObservatory” before going out every day. This mobile app has been downloaded over 7.8 million times since its launch in 2010. In addition to weather forecasts and the latest weather warnings, it provides location-based weather forecasts and rain forecasts through the positioning service, enabling members of the public to have the first-hand weather information specific to their locations.
Besides, the HKO has enhanced its communication with the public through a number of channels. The “香港天文台 HKO” Facebook page, which provides weather information and meteorological knowledge in a timely manner, is certainly one of the successes. It has attracted more than 150 000 followers in just over one year. I believe that you all still have a vivid memory of the extensive damage caused by super typhoon Mangkhut last year. Before the arrival of Mangkhut, repeated warnings were issued through the Facebook page for several consecutive days to remind the public to take early precautions. During the typhoon period, information about regional wind, storm surge, etc. was updated on an ongoing basis.
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In summer, the Very Hot Weather Warning is issued from time to time to alert the public to the risk of heat stroke. The warnings are triggered by the data produced by its in-house developed “Heat Stress Monitoring System”. The system, which underwent continuous improvement before obtaining its patent registration in Hong Kong in 2009, plays a significant part in the department’s continued efforts to issue the very hot weather messages in a timely manner.
Aviation weather is also a major research area for the HKO. The world’s first Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Windshear Alerting System was developed by the HKO in 2002 for operational windshear prediction at an airport so that warnings can be issued to ensure aviation safety. The system won the Award of the Year in the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2009. Many countries have drawn on Hong Kong’s experience and installed similar LIDAR windshear alerting systems. Currently, several LIDARs have been installed at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for detection of windshear and turbulence induced by buildings and aircraft. The HKO was designated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a Testbed for Doppler LIDAR systems for aviation application in 2018.
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To support the initiative of a “paperless cabin” on aircraft, the HKO has launched “MyFlightWx”, an electronic flight bag mobile app, in collaboration with the aviation industry to provide weather information on tablets. The app is the first of its kind developed by a meteorological authority. On aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi, aircrew can download the latest meteorological information during a flight. The HKO is also collaborating with the Airport Authority Hong Kong to provide weather information about more than 300 destination airports for travellers through the HKIA’s mobile app in 2019.
In the international arena, the HKO signed a Memorandum of Understanding on co-operation with the WMO in 2018, and was designated as a Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for Nowcasting for the Asian region. The latter is a full recognition of the significant role played by the HKO in applying nowcasting techniques in predicting severe weather. Of note is that the HKO has also won the Smart Business Grand Award and the Smart Business (Solution for Business and Public Sector Enterprise) Gold Award of the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2019 with its in-house developed nowcasting system called SWIRLS (Short-range Warning of Intense Rainstorms in Localised Systems).
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In addition, the HKO has revamped the Severe Weather Information Centre website (SWIC 2.0) for the WMO, and is currently updating the World Weather Information Service website to aggregate authoritative warning signals related to high-impact weather, water and climate events issued by official weather service organisations around the world.
Last year, the Asian Aviation Meteorological Centre (AAMC), jointly established by the HKO, the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the China Meteorological Administration, came into operation. The AAMC provides a weather monitoring platform for issuing forecasts and alerts on hazardous weather affecting aviation operation such as thunderstorms, turbulence and icing for reference by meteorological organisations of neighbouring countries and regions as well as the aviation sector. The AAMC also provides a platform for forecasters from different areas to co-ordinate hazardous weather information and work together to improve forecast quality.
Since its establishment more than a century ago, the HKO has made tremendous efforts to serve Hong Kong while leading the way in global meteorological activities and IT applications with significant and hard-earned achievements. In June 2019, Director of the HKO Mr SHUN was elected a co-Vice-President of the WMO’s Commission for Weather, Climate, Water and Related Environmental Services and Applications. This appointment has further highlighted the recognition and accolades given to the HKO and the director by the international community. This is something that we should be proud of.
The HKO uses the acronym “SCIENCE” to sum up its core values (i.e. Serve, Care, Innovate, Enthuse, Nurture, Collaborate and Excel). Dedicated to work and upholding the vision of being “A Model of Excellence in Protecting Lives and Building Together a Better Society through Science”, HKO staff have brought positive energy to the students and summer interns joining the visits while opening their eyes to the world around them.
The visits to the HKO were indeed inspiring. Despite its small size, Hong Kong enjoys a leading edge in many areas at the international level, for which we should take pride in. This also reminds me that even though weather is unpredictable, we should face every storm with calm and confidence. There is always sunshine after every storm no matter how severe the storm is.
