Better weather: The HK Observatory, Cathay Pacific and the Civil Aviation Department have worked together to commission a system that delivers automatic weather observations from commercial aircraft.

A new era of weather services has started in Hong Kong, boosting aviation safety and efficiency. The HK Observatory has started reception of automatic weather reports from computers on commercial aircraft.

It is the first weather service in Asia to launch an automatic aircraft weather observation programme and distribute the data worldwide.

The observatory, Cathay Pacific and the Civil Aviation Department have worked together to commission the system, which cuts the need for manual on-board transmission and ground reception of reports, greatly reducing the workload and possibility of human error.

The observatory receives about 300 daily weather reports directly from aircraft travelling between Hong Kong and other destinations. These contain data on wind direction, wind speed and temperature along the flight path.

The reports provide much needed weather information over the data-sparse South China Sea, and contribute to the improvement of weather forecasts. The reports are delivered to forecasters within minutes after readings are taken.

Apart from the observatory, meteorological centres serving other aviation hubs are also receiving automatic aircraft reports through partnerships of major airlines under a World Meteorological Organisation programme called AMDAR (Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay), which aims to enhance aviation safety and efficiency by promoting upper-air weather observations in aircraft.