Owing to recent confusion among the public, the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) will no longer use the term "early morning", in Chinese, to describe the time between midnight and daybreak.

HKO Director Lam Chiu-ying made the pledge yesterday after a mix-up of the term with the Chinese equivalent of "small hours" caused some misunderstandings and anger when Severe Tropical Storm Nuri hit Hong Kong last month.

On the night of August 21, when the T3 storm-warning signal was issued, the HKO announced that the T8 signal wouldn't be issued in the "early morning" of August 22.

However, by saying "early morning", in Chinese, the HKO actually meant the time between 1 and 4 am.

So, when the T8 signal was hoisted at 7:40 am, many people who didn't think the signal would be raised in the morning were already on their way to work.

The situation was made all the more difficult for people who live on outlying islands, as they couldn't return home because ferry services are suspended when a T8 signal is raised.

According to some dictionaries, the Chinese translations of "early morning" and "small hours" have similar meanings and can be used interchangeably, Lam explained yesterday. However, he said, the two phrases seemed to have different meanings in Hong Kong over the past two decades, with people thinking "early morning" comes after the "small hours".

After internal discussions, it was decided that the Chinese version of the term "early morning" will no longer be used, because different people have different understandings of what times it refers to.

"As this may cause misunderstandings and is unsatisfactory for weather-forecasting purposes," he said, "we will not use the Chinese version of 'small hours' out of respect for public opinion. From now on, we will use 'small hours' to indicate the time after midnight when it is still dark. But as for the time near sunrise, we need further consideration to come up with a new term."

Lam noted that the English media didn't have any problems with the two terms, as they have similar meanings.

And in a move that was somewhat a formality, as it has been utilized in the past, he said the HKO has made it an official practice to give the public a two-hour warning before T8 signals are issued.

That, he said, will ensure the public has time to prepare for the suspension of public transportation and the closure of businesses throughout the territory.

Commenting onNuri, Lam said the relatively accurate weather forecasts limited the death toll to two and the injury count to about 70. He compared that with previous typhoons years ago that claimed many lives, including one in 1962 that killed 100 people.

"If more than 100 people in a typhoon today, I would surely have to step down ... and so would my boss," he said lightheartedly.

(HK Edition 09/12/2008 page1)