The Hong Kong Observatory is enhancing its weather service for the tourism community by releasing weather information at Peng Chau in its "Regional Weather" webpages.

Located over the southwestern part of Hong Kong, Peng Chau overlooks Penny's Bay and the Hong Kong Disneyland in Lantau. The tranquil environment of Peng Chau with its diversified ecology makes it a popular destination for lovers of natural scenery. The weather information at Peng Chau provided by the Observatory includes temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction. Furthermore, real-time weather photos are provided to enable the public to view the weather conditions there
(http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/ts/index_e_webcam.htm).

In order to complete the installation of the automatic weather station as early as possible, Mr. IP Chi Wing, the Observatory's Radar Specialist Mechanic, and his colleagues had to work hard to meet the tight schedule and had to work on days of severe weather. Mr. Ip said, "When it was sunny, we had to work under very hot weather. If it rained, we had to pack up our equipment to take shelter without delay. To meet the tight schedule, we often had to had "afternoon tea" for "lunch"."

"After days of braving the weather, installation of the automatic weather station was finally completed. When the first weather photo had been received at the Observatory Headquarters, our colleagues were jubilated (Photo 1). When I returned home from work that day, I accidentally spotted a swallow's nest at the ceiling of a house near the pier (Photo 2). I was suddenly touched by the swallows' hard work in building a nest for their litter. My work at the Observatory is challenging as it provides me with the opportunity to serve the public. When I return home and see the lovely face of my son, I forget all the hassles of my work."

The weather information at Peng Chau can be found at: http://www.weather.gov.hk/wxinfo/ts/index.htm
This new service is also available to users at the following PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) website of the Observatory: http://pda.weather.gov.hk