Flooding at Pak Tam Chung, Sai Kung in 2022
The tropical cyclone season will start any day now, according to the Director of the Observatory, Dr Chan Pak-wai. He expects five to eight cyclones to come within 500km of Hong Kong this year, “which is normal to above normal”. Given global warming, the annual mean temperature is expected to be above normal but annual rainfall is expected to be near normal, ranging from 2100 mm to 2700mm. “However, Hong Kong will still be affected by rainstorms and localised heavy rain.” Last year was the warmest on record with the annual mean temperature reaching 24.8 degrees, 1.3 degrees above the norm in the 1990s.
The observatory is upgrading its services to help the public better understand the coming weather, Dr Chan said. “The update frequency of the Fengyun-4B satellite images will be increased from 12 minutes to six.” All-day visibility imagery from the Republic of Korea’s GK-2B satellite will enhance the monitoring of weather over southern China and the north of the South China Sea. Graphic rainfall information has been launched on the “My Observatory” mobile app for various districts so the public can be better warned of inclement weather approaching.
The HKO is moving with the times using AI to improve its upper-air forecast charts on the “Earth Weather” webpage. The observatory is continuing to enhance this page adding more computer model forecasts, including the forecasting of thunderstorms.
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