Director of HKO elected co-Vice-President of WMO Technical Commission
Director of the Observatory elected co-Vice-President of WMO Technical Commission
Editorial Board
The Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, Dr Chan Pak-wai, was elected with a high vote as a co-Vice-President of the Commission for Observation, Infrastructure and Information Systems (INFCOM) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) at the third session of INFCOM held in Geneva, Switzerland on 18 April. He is the first Asian to take up a leadership position in INFCOM.
As one of the two technical commissions under the WMO, INFCOM contributes to the development and implementation of globally coordinated Earth system observations, data and prediction systems. INFCOM also makes recommendations to the Executive Council and the World Meteorological Congress, the highest decision-making body of WMO, on international standards for methods, procedures, techniques and practices in meteorology and operational hydrology, which are included in the WMO’s Technical Regulations, Guides and Manuals.
The WMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, responsible for weather, climate, water and related environmental topics. At present, the WMO has 187 Member states and six Member territories, including Hong Kong, China.
Over the years, the Hong Kong Observatory has played a significant role in various WMO activities, and is highly regarded by WMO Members and the Secretariat. The Observatory’s officers have served in various roles in WMO technical commissions, standing committees, study groups and expert teams. Dr Chan is currently the Permanent Representative of Hong Kong, China with WMO, and was previously a co-Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Measurements, Instrumentation and Traceability of INFCOM, which promotes the standardisation of meteorological and related observations.
Dr Chan Pak-wai (first from right) is pictured with the elected President, Mr Michel Jean (second from right), Secretary-General of the WMO; Professor Celeste Saulo (middle); and the other two elected co-Vice-Presidents, Dr Pascal Waniha (second from left) and Dr Jan Danhelka (first from left).
