Climate change and the ever-changing weather are closely related to our daily lives. Through effective communications with the public, the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) provides timely, efficient and comprehensive services to them.

PARTNERING WITH SOCIAL GROUPS TO OFFER EXTENSIVE SERVICES

HKO establishes collaborative relationships and mutual trust with different stakeholders by way of partnering with social groups. With their support, HKO is able to strengthen its outreach programme to promote meteorological knowledge. For example, HKO and local schools joined hands to organise the “Community Weather Information Network” and installed weather stations in the schools. This not only facilitates the collection of meteorological data from the community, but also popularises the practice of weather observation. HKO also partnered with Ho Koon Nature Education cum Astronomical Centre to increase students’ interest and knowledge in meteorology through their participation in the “Weather Observation and Weather Photos Competition”.

To meet the needs of senior citizens, HKO set up a dedicated webpage for the elderly. The content is concise and easy to understand, providing links to useful websites for practical information such as tips for keeping warm. It also has a magnifier feature for easy reading. To encourage the senior citizens to actively participate in outdoor activities and be more aware of weather conditions, HKO partnered with the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) to hold a photo competition, “Sky of Silver Age” in 2016. The competition successfully attracted many submissions of high standard, vividly capturing the stunning scenes of seasonal changes and the changing colours of the clouds.

ENHANCING METEOROLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE THROUGH DIVERSIFIED MEANS

With the increasing popularity of social media, HKO launched a thematic Facebook page “The Community Weather Observing Scheme” as a platform for sharing photos of the sky and atmospheric phenomenon taken by the public. The Facebook page also effectively promotes meteorological knowledge to the public. A number of photos gathered on the Facebook page were included in the new version of International Cloud Atlas issued by the World Meteorological Organisation, which significantly enhanced Hong Kong's status and profile in the international meteorological community.

Facing the threats of climate change and extreme weather, HKO has sought to strengthen its efforts in raising public awareness by illustrating complex climate and environmental issues in a simple way. In 2016, HKO held a roving exhibition, “Climate Change – Our Response”, in collaboration with other government departments and organisations and attracted more than 100,000 visitors. HKO not only collaborated with different stakeholders to produce TV programme “Cool Met Stuff” but also invited young and innovative college students to produce micro-movies and animations. This helps to engage young people and enhance their meteorological knowledge. The first micro-movie “Silver Lining” conveyed the message of the ever-changing facets of clouds and life through a story of two young lovers who had a passion for cloud observation. It was well-received and gained favourable reviews.

HKO has successfully established an excellent departmental image through close communication and collaboration with different stakeholders to meet the needs of the public and specific sectors in society and provide thoughtful services to them.