Climate Exchange

[

] 215

rban

ssues

• Providing information relating to the Code of Practice on Wind

Effects to ensure that local buildings were strong enough to

withstand hurricane force winds, a threat brought about by the

occasional passage of typhoons

• Estimating probable maximum precipitation for the design

of drains with sufficient capacity to prevent flooding (Hong

Kong’s annual rainfall of some 2,300 millimetres is normally

concentrated in the May-September period)

• Anticipating maximum sea level, taking into account the tidal

cycle and storm surge brought by typhoons for incorporation

in the Port Work Design Manual for designing port,

reclamation and coastal engineering facilities to protect the city

from sea flooding.

Climate services in recent years

With the advancement of society, demand for climate services

has extended from supporting the building of infrastructure

to the improvement of people’s health and quality of life.

Advances in information technology and numerical climate

prediction also provide the opportunity to enhance the accuracy

and variety of climate forecast products ranging from weeks

to months, to seasons, and to the year ahead. The concern

about global climate change spawns a growing demand for

projecting future climate conditions to support mitigation and

adaptation decision-making, policy and development planning.

Thus, HKO’s climate services have acquired new dimensions in

recent years. Through a series of collaborations and outreach

activities, HKO has successfully built close partnership with a

diversity of stakeholders to enhance climate services and the

use of climate information in Hong Kong. These projects and

activities cover various areas including public health, water

resources, urban planning, flower cultivation and public educa-

tion on climate change.

Image: HKO

Climate and public health

It is well known that climate conditions can impact

public health. In collaboration with other government

departments, tertiary institutions and social enterprises,

HKO has been studying the impact of climate on public

health in Hong Kong with particular focus on thermal

stress and the occurrence of infectious and vector-borne

diseases.

Influenza epidemics

Influenza is a common seasonal communicable disease

in the city. HKO collaborated with microbiologists

from the Chinese University of Hong Kong to study

the seasonal variations of influenza occurrence, using

the laboratory-confirmed influenza cases admitted to a

local hospital and the meteorological data recorded in a

nearby weather station. The study identified the favour-

able climatic conditions for the occurrence of seasonal

peaks of influenza in Hong Kong and provided useful

information on the timing and duration of the applica-

tion of vaccinations for protecting the public.

Ovitrap index

To study the effect of weather on the abundance of

Aedes mosquitoes (a common mosquitoes which can

transmit dengue fever) in the city, HKO worked with

the Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene

(DFEH) to set up ovitraps at an experimental site undis-

turbed by human intervention and to record an ovitrap

index (the percentage of ovitraps set up at site with

breeding of Aedes mosquitoes) for about two years. By

analysing the ovitrap records and the meteorological

data from a nearby weather station, a model was devel-

The High Island Reservoir was opened in 1978, helping to alleviate water shortage problems in Hong Kong