Nurturing through Collaboration
Hong Kong Observatory

Exemplary Services@Gov
2015

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has always valued external communication through exchanges and cooperation with members of the public and different sectors of society.

Strengthening networks through partnership

The HKO makes good use of various channels to extend its outreach towards the general public and to listen to their feedback in formulating and developing new service strategies. The department has established liaison groups with different sectors, including aviation, shipping, and broadcast media. Annual consultative meetings are held to collect their views on the HKO’s services on a regular basis and to explore cooperation modes. In 2015, the HKO joined hands with members of the Liaison Group for the Shipping Community to conduct trial studies on taking meteorological observations on board ocean-going vessels. Works include the collection of meteorological data by cargo ships plying the routes of the South China Sea, facilitating weather monitoring over the sea areas so as to enhance forecast capabilities and improved meteorological services.

In addition, the HKO also invites scholars and experts from various sectors to form the "Hong Kong Observatory Strategic Advisory Committee” to examine the HKO’s services from different perspectives. Valuable comments are also gathered through regular public opinion surveys as well as through the “Friends of the Observatory”, which has a membership of over 10,000.

Promoting meteorological knowledge and engaging the youth

The HKO adopts a diversified approach to promote meteorological knowledge, aiming at improving public understanding of the HKO’s work and enabling people to make better use of weather information. One example is the television programme, “Cool Met Stuff”, produced in-house and made available for broadcast on television, webpages, mobile applications and social media. The department also collaborated with Radio Television Hong Kong to produce a television programme “Meteorology Series IV”. By visualising extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change, the programme served to raise public awareness of disaster prevention.

Through the organisation of two forums, namely “Weather Chit Chat with Young People” in 2014 and “Climate Knowledge for Climate Action” in 2015, the HKO aimed to promote interest in climate and meteorology among the young people by exploring topics such as climate change and extreme weather as well as debunking common weather myths in an interactive way. The HKO also joined hands with academic partners to organise competitions, enabling younger generations to exercise their creativity and to acquire an interest in, and understanding of, applications in meteorology and information technology. In addition, the HKO and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University jointly launched and promoted the “Community Weather Observing Scheme” and recruited young people as “Ambassadors of Weather Observation”. The scheme encourages members to make their own weather observations and to share weather photos and observation reports via popular platforms, such as webpages, social network and mobile phones.

The HKO will continue to improve its services and their applications by strengthening partnerships with its service targets and enhancing mutual understanding so as to meet the needs of different users.

The Observatory and the shipping community work together to collect upper-atmosphere meteorological data over the South China Sea by launching a weather balloon carrying radiosonde.
Observatory Director hosts "Weather Chit Chat with Young People" and discusses topics such as climate change, extreme weather phenomena and common weather myths.
Trained "Friends of the Observatory" volunteers promote meteorological knowledge to the public.