Weather Phenomena on stamps

 

Date of Issue: 27 March 2014

Hong Kong Post issued a set of six stamps and a souvenir sheet featuring seven weather phenomena.

Situated in the subtropical zone, Hong Kong has a humid climate with fog and drizzle in spring. Summer, also a typhoon season, is hot with occasional showers and thunderstorms. Autumn normally brings pleasant breezes, plenty of sunshine and comfortable temperatures. Winter becomes cloudier, with occasional cold fronts crossing the territory, bringing frost at times. In collaboration with the Hong Kong Observatory, Hongkong Post introduces seven common weather phenomena in Hong Kong under the theme of “Weather Phenomena” to help the public understand the changes in the weather.

$1.70  
A rainbow is an optical phenomenon. Sunlight is composed of light of different wavelengths. When there are water droplets in the atmosphere, sunlight gets refracted and reflected in them and a rainbow is formed. The stamp illustrates a double rainbow in the sky over the urban area of Hong Kong. When sunlight passes through water droplets and gets reflected twice, two rainbows are developed. The primary rainbow, formed by one reflection, is brighter while the secondary rainbow, produced by two reflections, is fainter.

$2.20
Frost forms when water vapour freezes into ice crystals. When the surface temperature of an object falls below freezing point, frost appears. The stamp portrays frost formed on the surface of a plant in cold weather in Hong Kong. Frost is white and is usually found on the ground or exposed objects.

$2.90
A cloud is formed when water vapour rises through the atmosphere and cools. A cloud is a mass of water droplets or ice crystals formed by the cooling and condensation of the lifted water vapour aloft. The stamp shows lenticular clouds in the sky over an urban area of Hong Kong. As air rises on the lee side of a mountain, water vapour condenses into water droplets, which accumulate and develop into lenticular clouds, taking the shape of a pile of saucers or lenses.

$3.10
Lightning is an atmospheric electric discharge phenomenon. In an unstable and moist atmosphere, water droplets and ice pellets in clouds will become electrically charged in a convective motion. When the building up of charges reaches a certain threshold, discharges take place between clouds or between clouds and the earth’s surface. The stamp depicts cloud-to-ground lightning in the night sky of Hong Kong. Cloud-to-ground lightning, a lightning discharge between a cumulonimbus cloud and the ground, poses a greater threat to people and facilities on the ground.

$3.70
Fog refers to tiny suspended water droplets near the ground. Under light wind, and stable and humid conditions, when the air near the ground cools down sufficiently, the water vapour in the air condenses into tiny water droplets and fog is formed. The stamp pictures  Lantau Island embedded in mist at dawn. In springtime, it is often foggy in Hong Kong and neighbouring areas as they are affected by alternate cold and warm air.

$5
Rain is a natural phenomenon of precipitation. Water droplets in the clouds will come down as rain when they accumulate to a certain weight. The stamp features Chek Lap Kok Airport in the rain. When a moist and warm air parcel rises and condenses as cloud, a significant amount of latent heat will be released into the surrounding air, facilitating the uplift of the air. Further sucking up of humid air will promote the full development of a cumulonimbus and eventually bring torrential rain.

$5 Stamp Sheetlet
A typhoon is a classification of tropical cyclone with wind speeds near its centre reaching hurricane force. The stamp sheetlet showcases the satellite image of Typhoon Vicente when it approached Hong Kong in July 2012 and the Hurricane Signal No. 10 was issued by the Hong Kong Observatory.

Hongkong Post also issued a $20 special stamp sheetlet, printed with lithography plus a lenticular effect, to show the trajectory of Typhoon Vicente.

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Water is Life…

 

 

Date of Issue : 3 April 2014 

German post in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry of Finance introduced a new charity stamp from the series “For the Environmental Protection”. Five colored dots forming a plus sign next to the motto “doing good – help with stamps” can be found on all the charity stamps and supplement products. The additional cost of the philatelic products is dedicated to the charity purposes.

Water is Life – it is the motif of this year’s charity stamp For the Environmental Protection. Without water there is no life, no growth and no harvest. It drives turbines and carries the largest ships. From water we produce energy and our waterways are among the lifelines of industry and business. But this natural resource is not only scarce and precious, it is also highly vulnerable . Pollution and contamination of drinking water are among the most pressing health risks.

UNESCO estimates water difficult of access or even unavailable for up to one billion people. Although the blue planet is covered about two-thirds with water – the most however is salty seawater. Drinkable liquid from precipitation, rivers and freshwater lakes makes only 0.6 percent of the total amount of water on Earth. This precious commodity is also uneven distributed geographically and socially. In some regions, people consume and pollute much water, in others they suffer from poor water quality and lack of water.

The lack of access to clean water is the main problem in many countries of the Third World. Almost 80 percent of all diseases in developing countries, such as cholera and severe diarrhea, are due to contaminated drinking water. Between 2 and 3.5 million people die annually on the consequences of poor water supply, according to estimates.

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New stamp on Taj Mahal from Japan

 

Date of Issue : 23 October 2013

Japan Post issued a beautiful souvenir sheetlet featuring 5 World Heritage Sites under its Overseas World Heritage series. It also includes Taj Mahal, ‘ The Pride of India.’

World Heritage Series No 2 stamps from Japan

For a better understanding of world heritage in foreign countries Japan Post Corporation continues the series “Overseas World Heritage” having the theme of fascinating natural and cultural heritage sites around the world. The special stamps from the second collection of overseas world heritage depict the Galapagos Islands, the Taj Mahal, Venice and its lagoon, Victoria Falls and Cologne Cathedral.

The Galapagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed on either side of the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, 926 km west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galapagos Islands and their surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a biological marine reserve.The islands are famed for their vast number of endemic species

The Taj Mahal is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”.

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy sited on a group of 118 small islands separated by canals and linked by bridges. It is located in the marshy Venetian Lagoon which stretches along the shoreline, between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Venice is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks.The city in its entirety is listed as a World Heritage Site, along with its lagoon.

Victoria is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border ofZambia and Zimbabwe.David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European to view Victoria Falls on 16 November 1855 from what is now known as Livingstone Island, one of two land masses in the middle of the river, immediately upstream from the falls on the Zambian side.Livingstone named his discovery in honour ofQueen Victoria.

Cologne Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site.It is Germany’s most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people a day.

: Japan Post

New Special Cover

Save The Earth : 12 October 2013 : Mumbai

A special cover was released in Mumbai  “ Save the Earth”during National Postal week.

As part of National Postal Week celebrations program, 12th October 2013 was celebrated as "Philately Day" & "Save the Earth". Shri Jayant Kumar Bhantia, Chief Secretary Government of Maharashtra was the Chief Guest on the occasion. A special cover on "Save the Earth" was released by Shri. Jayant Kumar Bhantia  to mark the Day. Tree plantation was also arranged in the premises of Mumbai G.P.O on the occasion.

Courtesy : Indian Philately Digest

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World’s first Thermo - sensitive stamps…

 

 

Hi !

Here are world’s first heat sensitive stamps issued by Belgium Post. These are unique stamps with special features. The color of the tree depicted on stamp changes with increase in the temperature.

The Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (IRM) is celebrating its hundredth anniversary this summer. On this occasion, the Institute has partnered with bpost to present the first Belgian and even world novelty: four thermosensitive stamps depicting the four seasons of the year.

The IRM is celebrating its 100th anniversary on July 31. To mark the event, the Institute cooperated with bpost to issue special stamps printed with a temperature responsive ink.

“This technological innovation is the first Belgian and certainly the world first”, exclaims the spokesman for bpost, Fred Lens. The series consists of five stamps: a stamp depicting the building of the IRM and four heat-sensitive stamps, each representing a tree whose leaf forms the map of Belgium. The foliage is green but when the temperature exceeds 25°, for example if one puts a finger on the stamp, the green layer disappears showing the tree in one of the four seasons (sun, rain, snow, clouds).

New stamps on Music

Belgium post issued a stamp dedicated to traditional music festivals held in open air all around Belgium in summer time. The most famous ones:

Rock Werchter: it’s a Belgian annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, since 1976. It is one of the five biggest annual rock music festivals in Europe (the other four being Exit, Sziget Festival, the Glastonbury Festival and Roskilde Festival). The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2012 festivals received the Arthur award for best festival in the world at the International Live Music Conference (ILMC). It can host 85,000 guests daily, of which 67,000 combine all four days, to add up to a total maximum of 139,000 different attendees.

Pukkelpop: it’s an annual music festival which takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid-to-late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland in the village of Kiewit, approximately 7 km north of Hasselt. It is the second largest music festival in the country after Rock Werchter, with an attendance rate of 180,000 over the course of the event in 2009.

Dour Festival: it is an annual music festival in the municipality of Dour, Belgium. Since its creation in 1989, the festival has grown to an attendance of about 144,000 in 2008 (over 4 days). The festival format now consists of 4 days, 6 stages and 200 bands and DJ’s. The festival’s acts come from a wide range of genres, such as: electro, rock, drum and bass, pop, R&B, reggae, house, punk, hardcore, metal, hip-hop, indie, techno and more. The festival attracts a very international and mixed crowd. In January 2010, Dour Festival won the prize for the best medium-sized festival at the European Festival Awards.

 

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New stamps on Energy Conservation..

 

 

Korea Post issued a set of four stamps on Energy Conservation. The stamps are so beautiful and nice collectible item for environment theme.

To remind us of the importance of energy conservation at a time when the entire world is facing an unprecedented energy crisis, Korea Post held an International Postage Stamp Design Contest under the theme of Energy Conservation and issued special stamps featuring the 4 works that won the grand and gold prizes in the youth and general category. “Green industry” by Ng Hio Wai (Macao, China), the grand prize winner in the general category, expresses, through the image of green leaves, not pollutants, rising from the factory chimneys, the message of: “through energy conservation, let’s reduce pollutant emissions”. “Riding a bicycle” by Kim Eun-jeong (Korea) is the gold prize winner in the general category.

Employing the images of the green earth and a wreath made of sprouts, this work expresses the message that the use of bicycles instead of cars can turn the earth we live on into a beautiful environment surrounded with green forests and flowers, which will in turn keep us healthy. “Keeping icebergs alive” by Yu Jae-gyeol (Korea), the grand prize winner in the youth category, conveys a message on the vicious cycle of the air conditioners and electric fans we use to avoid the heat spewing out another heat, which leads to the meltdown of the icebergs in the polar region. “Unplugging” by Kim A-ram (Korea), the gold prize winner in the youth category expresses the message that we can put energy conservation into practice by the mere act of unplugging, in a funny way that employs the images of a socket shape, smiling face and the shape of “ⓔ” which symbolizes electricity.

Now is the time for the global village to put energy conservation into practice for its very survival. For the Korean people in particular, whose country is the world’s no.9 energy consumer and which depends on imports for 96% of its energy needs, energy conservation is no longer an option but a must.

 

New Special cover

To mark the golden jubilee of St. Xavier's College, Mapusa since its establishment in 1963, a Special Cover and Cancellation release function was held in collaboration with the Department of Posts on 20th June 2013. The release of the Special Cover was graced by the chief guest archbishop of Goa and Daman, Filipe Neri Ferrao, guest of honour, Michael Lobo, MLA, Calangute constituency and others.

St. Xavier's College located in the North Goan town of Mapusa. It is the largest and oldest college north of the Mandovi River in Goa, a state along the west coast of India. The college is accredited by the NAAC with a grade of A and as a college with the "potential for excellence". This college was set up in 1963, soon after the end of Portuguese rule in Goa, when the new administration undertook an expansion of higher education in the region. It was affiliated to the University of Bombay during 1963. Since 1986, St Xavier's College has been attached to Goa University, which was set up in the State of Goa.

Courtesy : Indian Philately Digest

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Special Cover on World Environment Day

 

 

Social Forestry Wing, Keral Forest and Wild Life department, released a Special Cover on 'Harithakeralam - 2013' with the approval of Kerala Postal Circle on 5th June 2013 on the occasion of The World Environment Day. The areas outside forests have their fair share of rich biodiversity and critical ecosystems, which can be best conserved with people's participation.

The Social Forestry Wing of Kerala Forests & Wildlife Department works closely with people to increase greenery, enhance and conserve biodiversity and improve ecosystem services outside forest areas. The Haritha Keralam programme is flagship programme with wide participation that is launched each year on 5th June, the World Environment Day that serves to green our world. Special Cover depitcs Kerala falls within the famed Western Ghats.

Courtesy : IPF

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Stamp on World Oceans Day…

 

 

The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) is issuing three new stamp panes designed to raise awareness for World Oceans Day.

World Oceans Day was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008 and is now celebrated on 8 June each year. This special day is an opportunity to celebrate our world’s shared ocean and our personal connection to the sea, as well as to raise awareness about the crucial role the ocean plays in our lives and the important ways in which people can help protect it. The theme for World Oceans Day 2013-2014 is “Together we have the power to protect the ocean!”

The issued stamps feature creative images from children’s book author, Dr. Seuss. The stamps incorporate timeless characters of the book One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, who bring their unique view of healthy oceans.

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World Environment Day

 

Today is World Environment Day . World Environment Day (WED) is observed on June 5 every year to promote awareness on the importance of preserving our biodiversity, the need to identify problems related to the environment and ways to take corrective action.

 

  

The theme for this year’s World Environment Day celebrations is Think.Eat.Save. Think.Eat.Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages you to reduce your food print. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted. This is equivalent to the same amount produced in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 1 in every 7 people in the world go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children under the age of 5 die daily from hunger.

  

Think –Eat – Save --- Do not waste Food

Given this enormous imbalance in lifestyles and the resultant devastating effects on the environment, this year’s theme – Think.Eat.Save – encourages you to become more aware of the environmental impact of the food choices you make and empowers you to make informed decisions.

This year’s campaign rallies you to take action from your home and then witness the power of collective decisions you and others have made to reduce food waste, save money, minimize the environmental impact of food production and force food production processes to become more efficient.

So think before you eat and help save our environment !

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