Table 3 Summary of the key changes from current to future as well as potential benefits arising from these two future thrusts

Pilot project on new urban weather monitoring system and data-sharing platform

Most weather stations deployed in Hong Kong are designed to collect weather information at well-exposed sites and often in more remote areas away from built environment

Not many urban scale weather stations to support different urban applications and the development of urban-focused weather and climate services

Deploying new urban scale weather sensors catering for the climate and densely populated urban environment of Hong Kong to increase the density of meteorological and related observations in urban areas, especially for measurement at street level

Weather data at street level (such as wind, relative humidity, and temperature) will be useful in:

urban planning and air ventilation assessment

Heat stress information services and related health impact studies

Micro-climate assessment and research

Development of urban scale automatic weather forecasts; and

supporting other smart city-related initiatives

Impact-based forecast/risk-based warning

Weather forecasts and warning are mainly:

Formulated based on weather-related information

Geared towards timely and accurate weather forecast and warnings; and presented from a deterministic perspective

Accessing weather-related impact data through crowd-sourcing, partnership, and smart city initiatives

Impact-based forecasting system integrating both weather information and related impact data

Including probabilistic guidance based on ensemble forecast products to facilitate weather impact and risk assessments

Incorporating relevant impact and risk information in weather forecasts/warnings

Providing more information on forecast uncertainty and potential weather impact to facilitate decision support, alerting or warning services for the public and specialized users