Hong Kong Observatory wins at WMO's first intl weather apps competition

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) Wednesday announced that the mobile application "MyObservatory" it developed has won in the World Meteorological Organization's first international weather apps competition.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced on Dec. 15 that the mobile application "MyObservatory" developed by the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) won in the "Public weather forecasts and information - information content" category and earned an honorable mention in the "Specialised apps award - weather warnings" category at the WMO International Weather Apps Awards 2020 (WIWAA).

"MyObservatory" is the official weather mobile application developed by the HKO, and has been downloaded more than 8 million times.

"MyObservatory" provides a range of personalized weather information services, including location-based rainfall and lightning forecasts, which provides rainfall and lightning forecasts in users' or designated locations based on artificial intelligence technologies, and the trial "Dr Tin" Chatbot Service, which provides a convenient and interactive means for users to enquire about weather information.

The WMO is a specialized agency in weather and climate under the United Nations. The WMO WIWAA was organized for the first time in this year to recognize well-designed mobile applications for providing reliable weather and climate information. The competition received more than 110 entries from all over the world.