Replies to initial written questions raised by Finance Committee Members in examining the Estimates of Expenditure 2012-13 Director of Bureau : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Session No. 12 File name : cedb(cit)- doc
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- Examination of Estimates of Expenditure 2012-13
Question : Regarding time standard and geophysical services, please advise on the manpower, expenditures and equipment involved as well as the operational details of the following work in each of the past five years: (a) assessing the impact of climate change on the extreme weather events of Hong Kong; and (b) assessing the characteristics of urban heat island effects in Hong Kong. Asked by : Hon. KAM Nai-wai Reply : Using existing computer facilities and making reference to the climate model simulation results of major counterparts around the world, the Hong Kong Observatory completed a number of studies in the past five years on the long-term trend of Hong Kong's climate change, projections on temperature and rainfall, as well as the characteristics of urban heat island effects in Hong Kong. The findings show that, under the influence of global climate change and local urbanisation, the annual temperature and rainfall recorded at the Observatory exhibit long-term rising trends: cold days (minimum temperature of 12°C or below) become fewer while hot nights (temperature of 28°C or above), very hot days (maximum temperature of 33°C or above) and days with heavy rain (hourly rainfall of 30 mm or above) occur more frequently. These trends are expected to persist in the 21st century. The urban heat island effects in Hong Kong display two main characteristics: the night-time temperature in the urban areas is generally higher than the rural areas, and the difference is more significant in winter. Apart from publishing the above study findings in scientific journals and presentation at technical conferences, the Observatory disseminates the same in layman’s terms to the general public through various channels, including the Observatory's website, press release, pamphlets and seminars. The Observatory used existing manpower and resources to carry out the above tasks. The expenditure has been subsumed into the provision for the Observatory. It is difficult to quantify such expenditure separately.
Question : The Observatory intends to acquire a replacement caesium-beam atomic clock and related time transfer systems in 2012-13. What is the reason? What is the expenditure involved? Asked by : Hon. LAU Wong-fat Reply : The Hong Kong Observatory has two caesium-beam atomic clocks. One of them, in operation since 2004, is approaching the end of its functional life. For replacement purpose, the Observatory will acquire a new clock in 2012-13 to maintain the Hong Kong time standard and time services, providing time signals for the public. The Observatory uses the related time transfer systems to feed the time data generated by our caesium-beam atomic clocks to the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (“the International Bureau”), as our contribution to the determination of the universal standard time. This arrangement also helps monitor the consistency between the time kept by the local atomic clocks and the universal standard time, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the Hong Kong time standard. The International Bureau has set out to modify its mode of operation which had been in use since the 1990s. It requires more frequent time data from contributing organisations all over the world. The Observatory needs to acquire new time transfer systems in 2012-13 to conform to the International Bureau’s new mode of operation. The expenditure for acquiring the new caesium-beam atomic clock and the related time transfer systems will be about $0.8 million and $0.7 million respectively.
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