Weather goes Wi-Fi

1 June 2009

The Hong Kong Observatory and the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) will jointly provide location-specific weather information from today (June 1) at more than 300 government premises with free public Wi-Fi service under the Government Wi-Fi (GovWiFi) programme (http://www.gov.hk/en/theme/wifi/program/index.htm). The public can now instantly obtain the latest weather information at where they are with Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices.

Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Dr Lee Boon-ying, said, "Thanks to OGCIOs GovWiFi infrastructure, people can now leave behind all those cables and wires and enjoy free internet surfing at more than 300 GovWiFi premises. The weather information nearest to them is now at their fingertips."

Deputy Government Chief Information Officer (Consulting and Operations), Mr Stephen Mak, said, "The GovWiFi Programme is one of the major initiatives under the Digital 21 Strategy to transform Hong Kong into a wireless city. The Observatory is one of the pioneering government departments to provide location-specific services to the public through our GovWiFi service."

At any of the GovWiFi premises (http://www.gov.hk/en/theme/wifi/new/launched.htm), visitors can obtain the latest weather information nearest to that location with their mobile devices connected to the GovWiFi captive portal. They simply press the link "Local Weather Information" under "Site Information" and it will show 24-hour time charts of weather observation including air temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, wind speed and direction near the location. They can also browse the Observatory website using the shortcut icon under "Hot picks".