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Kylie Knott

From snake-themed events to whether your luck is in: discover all you need to know about the coming Lunar New Year in our Year of the Snake 2025 series.
Warmer temperatures and disruptive weather patterns brought on by climate change are taking a toll around the globe.
Supercharged events – hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024 ravaged parts of the United States, and in 2022 parts of East Africa suffered their worst drought in 40 years – have been devastating.
Last year was the warmest on record, with an average global temperature of 1.6 degrees Celsius (34.9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial average, according to the European Copernicus climate service.

The more the world warms, the worse the impacts of climate change become.
Wildlife will be affected by rising temperatures – and this includes snakes.
As reptiles, they are animals whose internal body temperature depends on the surrounding environment and varies throughout the day and the season, says Timothy Bonebrake, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences and Division of Ecology & Biodiversity at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
Humans, on the other hand, maintain a constant body temperature of around 37 degrees Celsius.
“Snakes rely on climate, and temperature specifically, to regulate their behaviour and how effective they are in capturing prey and/or escaping predators themselves,” says Bonebrake. Because snakes are mesopredators – both predator and prey – they represent a critical component of many ecosystems, he adds.

Climate change is expected to affect the way snakes share space with people, according to a report released in 2024 by the World Health Organization (WHO).
This is because snakes will shift their movements as temperatures rise and extreme weather events become more common.
“They will become more or less abundant and change their activity patterns. Humans will change farming practices, and there will be greater pressure to migrate or be displaced,” the report said.
As a result, human-snake contact and conflict are expected to become more pronounced or frequent in some regions, it read.
And when snakes come into contact with people previously unexposed to them, it means an increase in the risk of snakebite cases.

Climate change’s impact on snakes’ habitats is also a concern, in particular in Australia, home to almost 200 known species of snake, with 25 considered potentially deadly.
According to predictions, Australia is likely to be up to 5 degrees Celsius warmer by the end of this century under a high-emissions scenario, which means an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme wildfires.
While many Australian species have adapted to fire, some under threat might be pushed over the edge by fires driven by climate change.
In 2019-2020, Australia recorded its most intense and catastrophic fire season on record, in what was known as “Black Summer”.
Fires razed more than 70 per cent of the endangered broad-headed snake’s habitat, causing the population of the species to plunge by an estimated 26 to 34 per cent.
Hong Kong is home to an impressive diversity of snakes, for which we should be proud. But we need to protect the habitat of these animals
Timothy Bonebrake, University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a relatively high diversity of snakes – it has 53 species – and this is probably a consequence of effective conservation measures over its history, says Bonebrake.
The fact that so much of Hong Kong is designated as country park – about 40 per cent of its land – contributes to this diversity, he adds.
Other environmental factors will take a toll. Increased urbanisation – a rise in the number of people living in towns and cities, resulting in the spread of urban areas – will decrease habitat suitability for snakes, says Bonebrake.
“We’ve conducted analyses of human-snake conflict in Hong Kong and found that urbanisation is associated with a reduced number of incidents for all species except the bamboo pit viper and greater green snake,” he says.

“So yes, Hong Kong is home to an impressive diversity of snakes, for which we should be proud. But we need to protect the habitat of these animals.”
With so many people fearing snakes, expanding human populations will lead to more cases of human-snake conflict, says Bonebrake, echoing the WHO report.
“This is bad for both humans – who may be bitten by snakes – and snakes who may be killed by humans,” he says.
“More than most species, snakes have a way of eliciting intense emotions in people – often fear,” he adds.


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Wellness

Snakebite risks to rise as climate change and urbanisation push humans and snakes together

Snakes, such as the python above, and humans are being driven together by the effects of climate change, which experts say will result in more snakebite cases. Photo: Shutterstock

The impacts of climate change will worsen as the world warms up. Photo: AFP

Snakes play a critical role in many ecosystems, says Timothy Bonebrake, associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences and Division of Ecology & Biodiversity at the University of Hong Kong. Photo: University of Hong Kong 

Warmer global temperatures are increasing encounters between snakes and humans. Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images

A large female python on Castle Peak Road near Ting Kau Village, Hong Kong. Photo: Apple Daily

Join a race that snakes through Hong Kong country parks to avoid a run-in with loved ones

Runners on Wildtrek Hong Kong’s Chinese New Year Dragon Tour in 2024. This year’s run, the Snake Tour, is the second edition of what is planned to be an annual running event. Photo: Wildtrek Hong Kong

One of two routes for Wildtrek Hong Kong’s Chinese New Year Snake Tour 2025. Photo: Wildtrek Hong Kong

The trophy awarded by Wildtrek Hong Kong to participants who complete the Chinese New Year Snake Tour 2025. Photo: Wildtrek Hong Kong

Hong Kong ‘snake bible’ author on why they rarely bite and are ‘really quite special’

A  Burmese python, the apex snake species in Hong Kong. Photo: Adam Francis

A bamboo pit viper, the species responsible for most venomous snake bites in Hong Kong. They only bite as a last resort, says “snake bible” author Adam Francis. Photo: Adam Francis

Wildlife photographer Adam Francis on The Peak, in Hong Kong. Francis is also a snake enthusiast and researcher. Photo: Edmond So

A bamboo pit viper’s bite is “quite painful”, but Hong Kong hospitals are “amazingly good at treating them”, says Francis. Photo: Adam Francis

Francis says the Burmese python is “a big snake with a slow metabolism that eats big meals and then goes away and sits in a quiet, dark place to digest that meal”. Photo: Adam Francis

Year of the Snake 2025 predictions for 12 zodiac signs. How is your health, luck, wealth?

Feng shui master Tong Pik-ha predicts the varying fortunes of people born under the 12 Chinese zodiac signs in the coming Year of the Snake. Illustrations: Victor Sanjinez

Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Rising global temperatures and growing human populations are going to increase conflict between snakes and people, experts say


Rising global temperatures and growing human populations are going to increase conflict between snakes and people, experts say.


Climate change

Animals

Hong Kong environmental issues

Environment