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The Director of the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), Dr Lee Boon-ying, today (December 3) reminded senior citizens and those taking care of them to prepare for a drop in air temperature. Appropriate measures should be taken to protect senior citizens against the winter cold as low temperatures can have a significant negative impact on health, he said.
The Observatory and the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association hosted the Warmth and Care in Wintry Weather press conference today. Dr Lee introduced the HKO's location-based weather service - the MyObservatory PDA version, the iPhone enhanced version and the Android version - at the press conference. When conducting outdoor activities, senior citizens and those taking care of them can use the MyObservatory service to obtain real-time information on local weather and take appropriate measures if the temperature drops.
The Executive Director of the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA), Mr Ma Kam-wah, said that more senior citizens use the association's Personal Emergency Link Service (PE-Link) in winter. The SCHSA will continue to liaise closely with the HKO to monitor the weather, and if necessary strengthen the manpower of the Call and Care Service Centre, and send recorded voice messages through the Caring Message Service to remind PE-Link users of expected weather changes to minimise their health impact.
Madam Leung Wing-yin, who has been a user of PE-Link for many years, said, "With PE-Link and the MyObservatory location-based weather service, senior citizens like me will have a safer winter."
Ends/Friday, December 3, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:23
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