Developed and operated by the Hong Kong Observatory for the World Meteorological Organisation, the World Weather Information Service and the Severe Weather Information Centre have started formal operations after a two-year trial.

Observatory Assistant Director Dr Wong Ming-chung said organisation members at a St Petersburg meeting in February unanimously supported turning the two websites into an established operation under its Public Weather Services Programme.

The user-friendly sites have received meteorologists' compliments. They represent the joint efforts of national meteorological authorities worldwide to provide an authoritative source of official weather information for the public and the media.

Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said the sites reflect the organisation's long-term commitment in the provision of quality weather services to decision makers and the public, particularly on early warnings.

"The painful memory of the recent tsunami catastrophe in southern Asia reminds us of the vital importance of sharing information in order to prevent and mitigate natural disasters," he said.

"By making reliable weather observations and forecasts conveniently available on the Internet, the meteorological community serves the world better."

Observatory Senior Scientific Officer Dr Yeung King-kay, co-ordinator of the websites, said the need to communicate effectively with over 100 global representatives with different cultural and language backgrounds is a great challenge.

"Although I am still learning, I would testify that to be able to communicate with the heart is the key to achieving global co-operation, which is essential to the success of these websites," he said.

Director Lam Chiu-ying said the observatory has demonstrated itself to be a very effective agent in bringing together developed and developing countries, to implement an information service useful to the global community.

The information service website contains official city forecasts and climatological information, official weather observations and convenient links to the official websites of worldwide meteorological authorities and tourism boards.

Forecasts for 1,016 cities are provided, with climatological data for 1,075 cities. The website has English, Arabic, Chinese and Portuguese versions.

The information centre website provides tropical cyclone data and warnings for all ocean basins and charts showing the global distribution of severe weather information like heavy rain and snow.

When planning travel, visit these websites for weather information: Arabic version, Chinese version, English version, Portuguese version; or the Hong Kong Observatory website.