Hong Kong Observatory

The Hong Kong Observatory is a government department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the people's Republic of China and a member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It is responsible for meteorological observation in Hong Kong. It also serves as an earthquake, time service, astronomy and radiation monitoring service to issue relevant warnings to the people of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Observatory

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) is a department of the commerce and Economic Development Bureau (formerly the economic development and Labour Bureau) and a member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It is responsible for meteorological observation, earthquake, timing, astronomical and radiation monitoring in Hong Kong and issues relevant warnings to the public. The current director of the observatory is Cen Zhiming.

Founded in 1883, the Hong Kong Observatory is located on a hill in Kowloon. It was officially named "Royal Hong Kong Observatory" in 1912. The Observatory has a Victorian colonial architectural style. The building is two stories high and rectangular. The external walls are whitewashed, and the arched windows and corridors are unique. With the completion of the new building nearby, the technical and functional departments of the Observatory have moved to the new building. However, the old building is still the director's office and administrative center. With the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China on July 1, 1997, it was renamed "Hong Kong Observatory"

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brief introduction

The Hong Kong Observatory is located on a hill in Tsim Sha Tsui. It is a regular two-story building at 134a Nathan Road, Kowloon. It was founded in 1883 and officially became the astronomical monitoring center of Hong Kong in 1984. The buildings have been listed as statutory monuments in Hong Kong by amo. Visitors need to contact the observatory in advance for group visits. World Meteorological Day on March 23 is celebrated every year by holding an open day. The Observatory Road is also named after the construction of the Hong Kong Observatory.

The Hong Kong Observatory was formerly subordinate to the economic development and Labour Bureau. On 1 July 2007, the Bureau was reorganized and transferred to the newly established commerce and Economic Development Bureau.

Under the Hong Kong government, the observatory is responsible for weather forecasting, tropical cyclone warning and other meteorological and geophysical services. It has been more than 100 years since the observatory was established in 1883. Early work included meteorological and geomagnetic observations, reporting time based on astronomical observations and issuing tropical cyclone warnings. At that time, the observatory issued a tropical cyclone warning at Tsim Sha Tsui police station in Kowloon. These valuable works were well received and awarded the new title of "Royal Observatory" by King George V in 1912. Tropical cyclone warning is an important task of the observatory. In order to provide warning services, the observatory uses information collected from a wide range of sources, including ships, buoy weather stations, aircraft, land weather stations and meteorological satellites. The station is also equipped with a seismograph for recording long period vibration. At the same time, two accelerometers are installed in different geological sites. It also participated in the tsunami warning system in the Pacific region, represented Hong Kong in the Southeast Asia regional seismic network, and cooperated with international organizations to carry out gravity survey in Hong Kong. In hydrometeorology, the Observatory has about 90 rainfall stations, which report daily or monthly rainfall records and record rainfall data over 30 years on magnetic tape. In cooperation with the Geotechnical Engineering Agency, the station uses more than 40 automatic rain gauges to record 15 minutes of rainfall at specific locations and collect and store the data by computer. In addition, 20 automatic rain gauges have been added in remote areas of Hong Kong to extend the scope of the survey network to all districts of Hong Kong. In oceanography, the observatory uses computers to simulate the flow of water from the sea to the coastal waters to study the impact of storm surges. A monitoring network consisting of eight tide gauges continuously monitors the tide rise and fall in Hong Kong. The records obtained are analyzed and used to determine the tidal component. Publication of tide tables for the public. An ultrasonic wave meter on Henglan island has recorded wave data since 1981. The Observatory has also developed various numerical models to predict waves and swells in the South China Sea and Hong Kong waters. The station publishes daily, monthly and annual synopsis of meteorological observations for reference by overseas meteorological and research institutions as well as the engineering and construction industry in Hong Kong. Since the 1960s, the Observatory has been monitoring the radioactive content of the atmosphere, rain water and edible water. In 1987, the monitoring work was expanded to an environmental radiation monitoring program. The purpose of the program is to provide radioactive level information before and after the Daya Bay nuclear power plant was put into operation. A radiation monitoring and assessment centre at the Observatory Headquarters was established in 1990, and an early warning network reporting environmental dose rates and meteorological parameters to the centre was fully operational before 1992. The station uses cesium atomic clock to determine the time standard of Hong Kong. According to the regulations of the Asia Pacific weights and measures program of the Federal Council of science, it often adjusts the clock to maintain its accuracy. To monitor seismicity in the vicinity of Hong Kong, the Observatory has set up three seismometers at Tsim Bei Tsui, Yuen Wufen and Cheung Chau to record short period motions. The station conducts weather observation through various channels. Professional staff are engaged in ground observation of various meteorological elements at the Observatory Headquarters, Kai Tak Airport, Kingspark and Cheung Chau. The Observatory has set up automatic weather stations in Chek Lap Kok, Sha Tin, Lau Fu Shan, Ta Kwu Ling, Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung, Tsing Yi, Tuen Mun, Wong Chuk Hang and Heng LAN island. In cooperation with Guangdong Meteorological Bureau, an automatic meteorological observation station powered by solar energy was set up on a small island named huangmaozhou, 40 km south of Lantau Island. When the tropical cyclone center enters Hong Kong about 500 km away, the Observatory's radar at the top of Tate's Cairn can detect its location and track its movement continuously. The Hong Kong Observatory provides a wide range of meteorological services. Its weather forecast headquarters is responsible for issuing Hong Kong Weather Forecasts to the press, radio, television and relevant government departments

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development

After Hong Kong became a British colony, the Royal Society of Great Britain proposed to set up a meteorological observatory in Hong Kong in 1879 because Hong Kong's geographical location was suitable for studying typhoon and other meteorology. At that time, in East Asia, only Xujiahui in Shanghai, Manila, Beijing and Jakarta in Netherlands Indonesia had professional meteorological observatories. The first two are operated by Jesuit monks, and Hong Kong is just in between. As typhoons often cause damage to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government also supports the recommendations of the Royal Society. In the summer of 1883, the Hong Kong Observatory was officially established by Dr. dubke（ Dr.Doberck ）Director of the Department of astronomy. The original duties of the observatory included time service, meteorology, magnetic field and hydrological observation, which had nothing to do with astronomy. However, the Chinese who was responsible for the translation at that time mistakenly translated it as "Observatory", which is still in use today. In 1912, King George V conferred the title of Royal Observatory on the Hong Kong Observatory until the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on July 1, 1997. In 1948, the observatory joined the International Meteorological Organization (the predecessor of the World Meteorological Organization) and began to further use high-tech instruments for weather forecasting. In 1949, the observatory began to use radiosondes and radar radiosonde systems to forecast meteorological data, and introduced the first weather radar in 1959. After 1964, it received automatic image transmission signals from polar orbiting satellites. In 1973, the Observatory's first computer system was put into operation. Two years later, in 1975, the observatory used the World Meteorological Organization's global telecommunication system to establish three sets of dedicated circuits to exchange meteorological data, including Hong Kong to Tokyo (1969), Hong Kong to Bangkok (1970) and Hong Kong to Beijing (1975).

In 1980, the first cesium atomic clock system was set up to provide accurate time signals for Hong Kong. In 1984 and 1985, two automatic weather stations at Chek Lap Kok and Sha Tin and a radiation measuring room at King's Park were established. The observatory was one of the first Hong Kong government agencies to set up a website on the Internet in 1996. In 2000, the observatory added a set of high-efficiency servers to enhance the capability of meteorological data processing. One year later, the observatory enhanced its website service and began to provide both text and audio versions of the website to enable the visually impaired to obtain weather information on the Internet. In addition, the observatory also launched the WAP and PDA versions of its website for mobile phone users.

history

observatory

The idea of setting up a meteorological observatory in Hong Kong was first put forward by the Royal Society in 1879. According to the Royal Society, Hong Kong has a very good geographical location and is "an ideal place to study meteorology, especially typhoons". As a matter of fact, with the gradual increase of Hong Kong's population at that time, the damage caused by typhoon has been widely concerned by the community. The Hong Kong government also welcomes the proposal of the Royal Society. After detailed discussion and study, the Royal Society's proposal was finally accepted in 1882. With the arrival of Dr. doberck, the first director of astronomy, in the summer of 1883, the Hong Kong Observatory was founded in the same year. The early work of the observatory included meteorological observation, geomagnetic observation, reporting time according to astronomical observation and issuing tropical cyclone warning. These valuable services are highly valued and have been widely used

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Gang Tian Wen Tai