Newsletter Issue 29 (March 2023)

The Weather of February 2023 – A mild and dry February

With the northeast monsoon over southern China generally weaker than normal for most of the time, February 2023 was much warmer than usual in Hong Kong. The monthly mean maximum temperature of 22.0 degrees, monthly mean temperature of 18.9 degrees and monthly mean minimum temperature of 16.8 degrees were respectively the sixth, seventh and one of the eighth highest on record for February. The month was also much drier than usual. The total rainfall in the month was only 1.6 millimetres, about 4 percent of the normal figure of 38.9 millimetres.

Statement on Climate Change of our Society

The Hong Kong Meteorological Society acknowledges the overwhelming evidence that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have led to warming of the earth. According to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations, it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Furthermore, we draw the urgent attention of all that climate change has become a global crisis and emergency.

La Niña ending but warming El Niño may strike soon: WMO

An exceptionally long La Nina weather phenomenon that intensified drought and flooding is finally ending, the United Nations said Wednesday — but what comes next might bring its own problems. The outgoing La Nina phenomenon, a cooling of surface temperatures that can have a widespread impact on global weather conditions, started in September 2020. WMO said that after an unusually stubborn and protracted La Nina dragged on for three consecutive years — a so-called triple-dip — there was a good chance El Nino would develop in June-August.

Tropical Cyclone Freddy may set new record

The World Meteorological Organization is setting up an expert committee to evaluate whether tropical cyclone Freddy has broken the record as the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record. It has been a named tropical cyclone for 34 days, crossed the entire South Indian Ocean and travelled more than 8,000 kilometers. The accumulated cyclone energy (index used to measure the energy released by a tropical cyclone) is the equivalent of an average full North Atlantic hurricane season.

New idea for sucking up CO2 from air shows promise

A new way of sucking carbon dioxide from the air and storing it in the sea has been outlined by scientists. The authors say that this novel approach captures CO2 from the atmosphere up to three times more efficiently than current methods. The warming gas can be transformed into bicarbonate of soda and stored safely and cheaply in seawater. The new method could speed up the deployment of carbon removal technology, experts say.

中國氣象局印發實施方案提升氣候資源保護利用業務能力

中國氣象局印發2023年全國氣候資源保護利用業務能力建設實施方案，進一步推進氣候資源業務高品質發展，持續提升氣候資源保護與利用能力。該方案提出，實現空間解析度4公里的逐小時太陽能和空間解析度10公里的逐6小時風能監測產品的應用；建立基於中尺度天氣數值預報系統的風能太陽能預報自動運行流程；下發風能太陽能預報系統產品；實現風能太陽能月氣候預測業務運行等等具體建設任務及分工，確保各項任務有序有效推進。

杭州亞運會 氣象服務保障工作穩步推進

杭州亞運會籌辦工作進入最後衝刺發力階段，各項氣象保障服務工作穩步推進。截至目前，三維、分鐘級、多要素的亞運氣象綜合監測網已基本建成。為捕捉變幻莫測的氣象要素，浙江省氣象部門結合賽事特點，對競賽場館氣象觀測站進行加密升級，佈設游泳場地浮標站、沙灘排球沙溫感測器、亞帆中心燈塔自動站等特色觀測點，同時在各賽區配備了應急觀測設備，實現競賽場館相關觀測全覆蓋。

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