HKO organises training course on city forecasts

Ten meteorologists from Bhutan, Mainland China, Kazakhstan, Malawi, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand and Uzbekistan have completed a training course on city weather forecasts (October 31-November 3, 2006) organised by the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO).

This is the ninth time that the Observatory has organised professional training courses for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). The objective of the present course is to enhance the capability of trainees in formulating weather forecasts through the use of city-specific Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) products.

Mr Krishna Bhakta Manandhar, a participant from Nepal, said the training course offered him a valuable opportunity to learn the use of NWP products for predicting a city's weather. "I am very impressed by the sophisticated forecasting system and the experience of applying NWP products in Hong Kong. Overall, the course is very useful and I have benefited considerably from it."

The Director of Hong Kong Observatory, Mr Lam Chiu-ying, said the 13th Session of the Region II of WMO in December, 2004, endorsed the establishment of a Pilot Project on the Provision of City-Specific NWP Products to Developing Countries via the Internet.

"The pilot project is aimed at enhancing the weather forecasting capacity of developing countries in the region through the supply of city-specific NWP products. The project has made good progress with the first batch of city-specific forecasts prepared by Hong Kong, Japan and Republic of Korea put into operation in January, 2006," Mr Lam said. "The training course will help meteorologists make better use of these NWP products for predicting city weather in their home countries. We will continue to promote of the use of city-specific NWP products among WMO members and share our experience with counterpart meteorological services round the world."

The participants of the course are expected to contribute to the enhancement of their own forecasting work upon return to their home countries.

Figure 1 Participants of the training programme visiting the Tai Mo Shan Weather Radar Station

Figure 2 Participants being briefed on meteorological instruments