HKO Calendar-Preface

Preface

Extreme weather brought by climate change continues to affect every part of the world. July 2024 was the 14^th-consecutive month with a record-high global mean surface temperature. In particular, extreme temperatures of 50°C or above were recorded in at least ten countries between July 2023 and July 2024. On the other hand, extreme rainfall and floods have claimed many lives in East Africa and parts of the Arabian Peninsula in early 2024. Hong Kong was not immune from extreme weather either, which was evidenced by the heavy showers in early May. More than 100 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over many places in Hong Kong, and rainfall even exceeded 400 millimetres over parts of Tseung Kwan O. Multiple flooding and landslides events were reported.

With extreme weather becoming more frequent due to human-induced climate change, early warning systems for extreme weather events is becoming more important than ever. Yet, most of the people living in the least developed countries are still not covered by such early warning systems. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has set the theme of the World Meteorological Day 2025 as “Closing the Early Warning Gap Together”, echoing the United Nations’ “Early Warnings for All” initiative. It is hoped that everyone can be protected by early warning systems and beware of any upcoming extreme weather, thus minimising the impact brought by the increasingly severe natural disasters such as floods, heatwaves, and storms.

As a core component of the WMO Global Multi-hazard Alert System framework, the “Severe Weather Information Centre” (SWIC 3.0) website was launched in 2024, gathering advisories issued by National Meteorological & Hydrological Services around the world. It provides global users with authoritative warning information, contributing to the implementation of the “Early Warnings for All” initiative as well as disaster risk reduction and prevention.

Coping with climate change requires the concerted effort from every one of us. We must all work together to save energy and reduce emission. 

Majority of the photos in the Calendar originate from the Community Weather Observing Scheme (CWOS). While we are appreciating the wonders of nature, let’s not forget to protect our Earth together, and to leave the beautiful sceneries to our future generations.

CHAN Pak-wai
Director of the Hong Kong Observatory