Hong Kong Observatory hosted video conferences for 52nd Session of Typhoon Committee
19 June 2020
The 52nd Session of the United Nations ESCAP1 / World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Typhoon Committee was originally scheduled to be held in Hong Kong in February 2020. In view of the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee decided to conduct the 52nd Session by means of two video conferences after consulted the Typhoon Committee Members. The Hong Kong Observatory hosted the two video conferences on 6 March and 10 June 2020 respectively. This was the first time in the history of the Typhoon Committee to conduct session meeting via video conferences.
Over 120 meteorological, hydrological and disaster risk reduction experts in the Asia Pacific region from 12 out of 14 Typhoon Committee Members joined these two video conferences. Dr. Cheng Cho-ming, the Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, was elected as the Chairperson of the 52nd Session of the Typhoon Committee and presided at the two video conferences, which reviewed achievements in the past session and discussed various Members’ activities, operational and research collaborations in the Typhoon Committee region with a view to reducing loss of lives and damages caused by tropical cyclones.
The Typhoon Committee is under the auspices of the United Nations ESCAP and the WMO. It comprises 14 Members: Cambodia; China; Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Hong Kong, China; Japan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Macao, China; Malaysia; the Philippines; Republic of Korea; Singapore; Thailand; Socialist Republic of Vietnam; and the USA.
For more information about the Typhoon Committee and associated activities, please visit this link.
Notes :
1. ESCAP stands for Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Members participated in the first video conference for the 52nd Session of the Typhoon Committee held on 6 March 2020
Dr. Cheng Cho-ming (left), the Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, presided at the second video conference meeting for the 52nd Session of the Typhoon Committee on 10 June 2020