Director of the Hong Kong Observatory Elected Vice-President of World Meteorological Organization Regional Association II Asia)

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced the election of Mr. C. Y. Lam, Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, as the Vice-President of WMO's Regional Association II (Asia).

Regional Association II (Asia), or RA II for short, has more than 30 national and territory members. Its principal functions are to co-ordinate the implementation of meteorological services at the international level and to promote the strengthening of the overall effectiveness of meteorological services in Asia.

Mr. C. Y. Lam's election is testimony to the recognition accorded to the work of the Observatory by WMO members in Asia. It also reflects the high esteem enjoyed by the Hong Kong Observatory among fellow meteorologists, achieved through many years of hard work by its staff and cumulative contributions to international meteorological cooperation.

The Observatory's accomplishments in the international meteorological arena include the design and operation of two websites on behalf of WMO viz. 'World Weather Information Service' and 'Severe Weather Information Centre'. These two websites collate under one roof official meteorological information from around the world, and in turn disseminate this information to the international community. They have strengthened the meteorological services provided to the international public, and raised the visibility of meteorological departments in developing countries in the international arena. Since their launching, these two websites have won unanimous acclaim from WMO and the international meteorological community.

In recent years, the Observatory has been providing training courses to other members of WMO. Observatory staff has also been invited to serve as lecturers in a number of international scientific workshops. These activities have been very well received. Later this year the Observatory will again host a training course in Hong Kong to help developing countries set up internet-based weather services.

Mr. C. Y. Lam said: 'I shall apply the strengths of the Observatory to foster co-operation among the members of RA II, and contribute in particular to the enhancement of the meteorological services delivered by developing countries. Hong Kong Observatory's forecasts will ultimately stand to benefit from having better global meteorological observations, and the free flow of meteorological information worldwide.'