- Station in Sai Kung collects climate data every two seconds – 300 times faster than traditional systems – and is equipped with seven different sensors
- System is sustainably designed as it runs on solar power
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Bruce Lam (second from left), CEO of the consumer business group at HKT, worked with school principal Chris Fung Ka-chun (third from right) to make the 5G weather station a reality. Photo: Audrey YeungPrimary Four student Issac Ho checks the weather every morning before heading to school. But instead of browsing data from the Hong Kong Observatory, he turns to his school website.
“Nowadays, we cannot always go to school because of extreme weather – black rain, red rain, Typhoon Signal 10,” said the nine-year-old Sai Kung Sung Tsun Catholic School student, adding that the weather station helps him prepare for the day before leaving his home.
Ho’s school introduced its 5G Weather Station through a partnership with Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) in early October. Equipped with seven different sensors, the weather station on the school’s rooftop collects climate data in real-time every two seconds, providing information ranging from temperature to ultraviolet radiation (UV) index.
The data is easily accessible to all students, parents and teachers on the school website.
Another Primary Four pupil, Demax Ho, said that the weather station was “very necessary”. “If it didn’t exist, how would we know the weather [in the school area]?” the nine-year-old said.
According to HKT, the weather station can collect data 300 times faster than traditional weather monitoring systems. It is also sustainably designed as it runs on solar power.
HKT also created a 15-session STEM course called “5G weather station learning and IoT data analysis” to teach students about the station and how to analyse climate data.
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Chris Fung Ka-chun, principal of the school, hoped the course could inspire students to cultivate an interest in STEM and geography, saying: “[The course] can be a great starting point for students to get into the field.”
Using a hands-on approach, students can use the weather station data not only to better prepare for inclement weather but also to understand how the weather affects them, the impact of climate change, and the importance of sustainable development.
According to HKT, the course was made to “cultivate awareness of environmental protection, community energy conservation and carbon reduction”. It also encourages students to improve their information literacy.
Bruce Lam, CEO of HKT’s consumer business group, said he hoped to install more weather stations elsewhere in Hong Kong, noting that more stations could provide a more accurate depiction of Hong Kong’s climate and better prepare the city for dangerous weather.
“I think [the weather station] will be a really big help to students, and it also fosters an interest in science and technology at a young age,” Lam said.