Government can’t control weather, minister says after Hong Kong axes drone shows
Ionospheric scintillation, which leads to poor GPS signal, forced city to scrap drone shows, although Shenzhen was able to go ahead with performances
Meteorological conditions are out of authorities’ control, Hong Kong’s tourism minister has stressed after the city cancelled drone shows on two consecutive nights despite neighbouring Shenzhen carrying on with a similar performance.
As many as 330,000 people were left disappointed in Hong Kong on Tuesday when a panda-themed drone performance set to precede a National Day fireworks display was axed just a few minutes before it was to begin.
Authorities announced the event was cancelled due to ionospheric scintillation, which is mainly caused by solar activities and leads to a poor GPS signal. It was the second night in a row a drone show was cancelled because of the phenomenon.
But Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung on Wednesday said such situations were out of the government’s control and authorities had informed the public in a timely manner.
“I hope everyone can understand that not all factors can be controlled by the organiser or the government,” he said. “We have to adapt to the situation. Weather conditions are not something we can control.”
The government would look into how to improve the process of informing the public about sudden changes to scheduled performances caused by weather or other atmospheric conditions, the minister added.
