Hong Kong Observatory

Information about Hong Kong Observatory

Hong Kong Observatory
Chinese:香港天文台
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The Hong Kong Observatory Centenary Building
Hong Kong Observatory (Chinese: 香港天文台), known as the Royal Observatory (Chinese: 皇家香港天文台) before 1997, is a department of the Hong Kong Government. The Observatory forecasts weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in Hong Kong and provides other meteorological and geophysical services to meet the needs of the public and the shipping, aviation, industrial and engineering sectors.

Overview

The Observatory was established in 1883. Early operations included meteorological and magnetic observations, a time service based on astronomical observations and a tropical cyclone warning service.

The Hong Kong Observatory was built in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula in 1883. Observatory Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is so named based on this landmark. The Observatory is now surrounded by skyscrapers as a result of rapid urbanization. However, it remains unrelocated. As a result of high greenhouse gas emission, the reflection of sunlight off buildings and the surfaces of roads, as well as the reducing vegetation, the location suffers from the heat island effect. Consequently, average temperatures recorded by the Observatory saw a large increase from 1980 to 2005. In 2002, the Observatory opened its resource center on the 23rd Floor of the nearby Miramar Tower, where the public can buy the Hong Kong Observatory publications and access other meteorological information.

Buildings in the Observatory

1883 Building

This building, built in 1883, is a rectangular two-storey plastered brick structure; it is characterised by arched windows and long verandas. It now houses the office of the directorate and to serve as a centre of administration of the Observatory.[1]

The Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters

It is next to the 1883 Building; the Centenary Building, used as The Hong Kong Observatory Headquarters, was erected in 1983 as a commemoration of the centennial service of the Observatory.[2]

Outreach activities and publicity

The Friends of the Observatory, an interest group set up in 1996 to help the Observatory to promote Hong Kong Observatory and its services to the public, provide science extension activities in relation to the works of the Observatory and foster communication between the Observatory and the public, now has more than 7,000 individual and family members in total. Activities organized for the Friends of the Observatory include regular science lectures and visits to Observatory’s facilities. Newsletters (named 談天說地) were also published for members once every four months. Voluntary docents from this interest group lead a "HKO Guided Tour" to let the public who applied for visit in advance to visit the headquarter of the Observatory, and learn about the history, environment and meteorological science applied by the Observatory.

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Young visitors at the Observatory


The Observatory regularly organizes visits for the secondary school students. This outreach programme was extended to primary school students, the elderly and the community groups in the recent years. Talks are also organised in primary school during the winter time, when the officials are less busy in the severe climate issues and watchouts. A roving exhibition for the public was also mounted in shopping malls in 2003. To promote understanding of the services provided by the Observatory and their benefits to the community, over 50 press releases were issued and 7 media briefings were held in 2003.

References

See also

External links



Coordinates:
Chinese or the Sinitic language(s) (汉语/漢語, Pinyin: Hànyǔ; 华语/華語, Huáyǔ; or 中文, Zhōngwén) can be considered a language or language family.
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Standard Mandarin, also known as Modern Standard Chinese
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Pinyin, more formally called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: 汉语拼音; Traditional Chinese: 漢語拼音
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Cantonese or Yue (粵語) is a major Chinese dialect group or language, a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. The exact number of Cantonese speakers is unknown due to a lack of statistics and census data.
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Chinese or the Sinitic language(s) (汉语/漢語, Pinyin: Hànyǔ; 华语/華語, Huáyǔ; or 中文, Zhōngwén) can be considered a language or language family.
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Chinese or the Sinitic language(s) (汉语/漢語, Pinyin: Hànyǔ; 华语/華語, Huáyǔ; or 中文, Zhōngwén) can be considered a language or language family.
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20th century - 21st century
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1994 1995 1996 - 1997 - 1998 1999 2000

Year 1997 (MCMXCVII
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The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Traditional Chinese:
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1850s  1860s  1870s  - 1880s -  1890s  1900s  1910s
1880 1881 1882 - 1883 - 1884 1885 1886

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Tsim Sha Tsui (Simplified Chinese 尖沙咀, Traditional:尖沙嘴), often abbreviated as TST, also known as Tsim Tsui (尖咀 or 尖嘴) by local people, is an urbanized area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in southern
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The Kowloon Peninsula, commonly referred to as Kowloon, is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong, China. Kowloon Bay is located at the northeast of the peninsula.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1850s  1860s  1870s  - 1880s -  1890s  1900s  1910s
1880 1881 1882 - 1883 - 1884 1885 1886

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Observatory Road is one of the oldest road in Hong Kong, and has existed since 1883. It is called so because this is where the Hong Kong Observatory was constructed.
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skyscraper is a very tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition or a precise cutoff height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper.
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Urbanization or Urbanisation (see difference in spelling) means the removal of the rural characteristics of a town or area, a process associated with the development of civilisation.
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Greenhouse gases are components of the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Without the greenhouse effect the Earth would be uninhabitable;[1] in its absence, the mean temperature of the earth would be about -19 °C (-2 °F, 254 K) rather than the present
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urban heat island (UHI) is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surroundings. The temperature difference usually is larger at night than during the day and larger in winter than in summer, and is most apparent when winds are weak.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
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1977 1978 1979 - 1980 - 1981 1982 1983

Year 1980 (MCMLXXX
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2002 2003 2004 - 2005 - 2006 2007 2008

2005 by topic:
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20th century - 21st century - 22nd century
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1999 2000 2001 - 2002 - 2003 2004 2005

2002 by topic:
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Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1850s  1860s  1870s  - 1880s -  1890s  1900s  1910s
1880 1881 1882 - 1883 - 1884 1885 1886

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1950s  1960s  1970s  - 1980s -  1990s  2000s  2010s
1980 1981 1982 - 1983 - 1984 1985 1986

Year 1983 (MCMLXXXIII
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A centennial or a centenary is a 100-year anniversary.

Governments often declare a Centennial Day in honor of such anniversaries. Some monarchies, including the Low Countries, allow organisations that have celebrated their centennial anniversary to adopt (or petition
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The Friends of the Observatory, an interest group was established in August 1996 by the Hong Kong Observatory. This interest group is aimed to help the Observatory to promote Hong Kong Observatory and its services to the public, provide science extension activities in relation to
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1960s  1970s  1980s  - 1990s -  2000s  2010s  2020s
1993 1994 1995 - 1996 - 1997 1998 1999

Year 1996 (MCMXCVI
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Secondary school is a term used to describe an institution where the final stage of compulsory schooling, known as secondary education, takes place. It follows on from primary or elementary education.
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primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations
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20th century - 21st century - 22nd century
1970s  1980s  1990s  - 2000s -  2010s  2020s  2030s
2000 2001 2002 - 2003 - 2004 2005 2006

2003 by topic:
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