The Director of Hong Kong Observatory talks to the press on World Meteorological Day 2007

On the occasion of World Meteorological Day (23 March 2007), the Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Mr Lam Chiu-ying, talked to the press about the Observatory's activities. He announced the "One District One Station" project and the preparation of an education kit on climate change.

Mr Lam thanked the Observatory staff for their hard work. "My colleagues are motivated by their devotion to the profession, and the satisfaction and sense of achievement derived from successfully completing projects after projects in the service of people." Mr Lam added.

The Observatory team is well-respected by the international meteorological community. Seventeen Observatory staff serve as experts in various capacities in international organizations, such as World Meteorological Organization, International Civil Aviation Organization. They take up eleven posts at the level of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, or Project Leaders in areas ranging from disaster prevention, aviation meteorology, coordination of world weather websites etc. Mr Lam said, "This is a testament to our scientific strength, our excellent service and the trust which the international meteorological community places on us."

On the revised Tropical Cyclone Warning System, Mr Lam said that after the 2007 typhoon season, the arrangements would be reviewed with an open mind, taking into account the experience gained and further feedback from the public. "The work to cut out a system matching the expectation of the public never ends." Mr Lam added.

Looking ahead, Mr Lam announced the "One District One Station" project. At least one automatic weather station to measure the temperature will be set up in each of Hong Kong's 18 districts. The first additional stations will be set up in Kowloon City District, Eastern District, and Central and Western District this year.

Mr Lam said, "We also plan to develop an education kit on climate change for distribution to schools to support promotional activities in schools." This is a new initiative responding to the increasing interest of the local public on climate change.

The Observatory will acquire a broadband seismograph to strengthen Hong Kong's capability to predict tsunami. Data received by the seismograph will be used to determine the details of the movement of the earth's plates during an earthquake. Mr Lam explained, "Together with the results of the Observatory's computer simulations of tsunamis, the height and arrival time of the tsunami generated, if any, could be estimated."

Regarding this year's weather, Mr Lam said that the annual rainfall in 2007 would be near normal, and the number of tropical cyclones affecting Hong Kong would be five to six.

Please visit the following web page for the full text of the speech of Mr C Y Lam, Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, at the meet-the-media session on 23 March 2007: http://www.weather.gov.hk/en/dhkovoice/speech0323e.htm

Figure 1 The Director, Mr C Y Lam, explained the propagation of tsunami waves as simulated by a numerical tsunami model when a hypothetical undersea earthquake occurred in the South China Sea.

Figure 2 The Director, Mr C Y Lam, explained his plan to produce an information kit to support promotional activities of climate change in schools.