The Hong Kong Observatory has today launched a seven-day weather forecast so that people can conveniently gather more weather information to plan their activities.

This extended forecast includes information on wind direction and speed, weather conditions, temperature and relative humidity. The forecast is issued daily at 11.30am and 4.30pm.

The public and the media can browse the forecast at the webpage  www.weather.gov.hk/wxingo/currwx/f7d.htm. The information can also be obtained from the observatory's Information Enquiry System (2926 1133), in the form of a recording or fax.

The accuracy of the present seventh-day forecast is comparable with those of the second- or third-day forecast five years ago. The successful extension of the forecast period depends on the effective use of computer technology.

Observatory marks 30th anniversary of computer division

This year is also the 30th anniversary of the observatory's computer division. At a ceremony to mark the occasion today, HKO Acting Director Yeung Kai-hing said that in the last 10 years, advances in computer technology have resulted in jumps in computing power and storage capacity, which have provided unprecedented support to meteorological applications.

Numerical weather-prediction models have become more refined and sophisticated than ever and their accuracy has been improved gradually, he added. The rapid advancement of telecom networks mean more worldwide weather information can be exchanged in a timely manner and become applicable in weather services.

These improvements have enabled the weather forecast period to be extended to a full week.

Free bookmarks available

To celebrate the division's anniversary, the observatory has designed four bookmarks. They, together with two new pamphlets introducing the "World Weather Information Service" and "Severe Weather Information Centre" websites, are now available to the public for free at the Hong Kong Observatory Resource Centre, Room 2304-2309, Miramar Towers, Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.