Observatory launches real-time weather photos at Kowloon City and enhances weather photo quality at all observing sites

The Hong Kong Observatory has enhanced its regional weather information service by adding real-time weather photos at Kowloon City to its website starting from today (December 12).

Weather photos captured by the camera installed near Kowloon Tsai Park help monitor weather conditions over Kowloon City District, eastern Kowloon, eastern Victoria Harbour and their surrounding areas, enabling the public to observe weather changes over these regions.

The Vice President of the Hong Kong Aviation Club, Mr Simon Chak, welcomed the Observatory's initiative in providing weather photos at Kowloon City. "The newly added real-time weather photos are very useful for pilots in monitoring weather conditions such as cloud cover, cloud height and visibility in eastern Kowloon. The weather photos can facilitate flight planning and help enhance flight safety," he said.

The Senior Marine Officer of the Marine Department, Mr Ng Lap-hay, said, "The eastern part of Victoria Harbour is an important waterway for cruise ships visiting Hong Kong. The Observatory's new real-time weather photos provide useful reference for ships to assess weather situations, thereby enhancing the safety of navigation in these waters."

With the inclusion of weather photos at Kowloon City, the number of sites providing weather photos on the Observatory's website has increased to 19.

The Observatory has also enhanced the quality of weather photos at all observing sites for a clearer view of the weather conditions in various areas. Real-time weather photos are updated every five minutes and the photos are available from 5am to 9pm every day.

Members of the public can access the weather photos through the Observatory's "Regional Weather in Hong Kong" webpage (www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/ts/index_e_webcam.htm) and mobile platform webpage (m.hko.gov.hk/wxreport/wxphoto.htm).

The real-time weather photos at Kowloon City will also be available in the next upgrade of "MyObservatory", a smartphone weather service application developed by the Observatory.

Figure 1 The Hong Kong Observatory's "Regional Weather in Hong Kong" webpage shows real-time weather photos at 19 sites in Hong Kong. The real-time weather photo at Kowloon City and its area of coverage are highlighted in the red boxes.

Figure 2 The new camera installed near the Kowloon Tsai Park provides real-time weather photos over the Kowloon City District, eastern Kowloon and eastern Victoria Harbour.