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Director of the Hong Kong Observatory Mr C Y Lam today (January 22) presented a letter of appreciation to the Ngong Ping Tea Garden and to its manager, Mr Woon-chi Chan, to express the Observatory's gratitude for the support given to the weather service in Hong Kong. For years, the Tea Garden had provided the ground and utilities to enable the automatic rain gauge station there to operate for 22 years.
To capture the real-time rainfall distribution in Hong Kong, the Observatory started building an automatic rain gauge network in the early 1980s. The rain gauges in the network are located in various parts of Hong Kong, with Ngong Ping at Lantau being one of the important locations. Twenty years ago, public utilities at Ngong Ping were not that comprehensive.
Also, it was not easy to find a suitable site that was safe, secure and not tampered with by animals and birds. After some co-ordination by Observatory staff, the owner of the Tea Garden, the late Mr Brook Bernacchi, OBE, OC, JP, generously granted the use of the roof of a house there to accommodate the rain gauge. Since then, the rain gauge station operated smoothly for many years.
The rain gauge was relocated late last year to a more exposed location at the Ngong Ping Fresh Water Service Reservoir. With this, the station at Ngong Ping Tea Garden completed its historic role after 22 years of service.
Ends/Monday, January 22, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:32
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