The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) and the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) held a joint press conference today (December 14) to remind the public to take appropriate precautions against the significant drop in temperature.
Assistant Director of the HKO Mr Chan Pak-wai said at the press conference that an intense winter monsoon will lead to a significant drop in temperature today. The weather will become rather cool in the next few days, with morning temperatures expected to fall to about 13 to 14 degrees Celsius in urban areas and a couple of degrees lower in the New Territories. With a replenishment of the monsoon, cool mornings will persist over the weekend and early next week. The elderly and persons with chronic medical conditions should pay special attention to the possible health impacts brought about by the significant temperature drop and the big temperature difference between day and night.
He also spoke on the HKO's efforts in enhancing various weather information services this year, including the launch of the "Hong Kong Hiking Trail Weather Service" webpage and the Dr Tin chatbot. The former assists the elderly in planning their hiking routes, while the latter enables the elderly to obtain various types of weather information via text-based dialogue.
The Chief Executive Officer of the SCHSA, Ms Maura Wong, said, "With the epidemic and the upcoming temperature drop, we would like to remind the elderly to keep warm and stay safe. If they feel unwell, they should seek help or medical advice as soon as possible. While it is important to maintain social distancing during the epidemic, the elderly can stay positive through keeping up healthy social interaction by calling their friends and families regularly for chats or sending their regards. Family members can also help the elderly to set up daily routines to enrich their daily lives and to understand the daily habits of each other. Depending on their physical conditions, the elderly can make use of the videos from online platforms to learn to do stretching exercises at home. By keeping an eye on each other, we can get through the winter safely and happily."
The public can obtain the latest weather forecast and the nine-day weather forecast by using the HKO's Dial-a-Weather service at 1878 200 or the HKO's mobile app "MyObservatory", or by visiting the HKO's website at the following links:
Weather forecast: www.weather.gov.hk/en/wxinfo/currwx/flw.htm
Nine-day weather forecast: www.weather.gov.hk/en/wxinfo/currwx/fnd.htm
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