Hong Kong’s wave of intense heat set to match record last set in 2016
- Hong Kong heading for nine-day streak of ‘very hot weather’ warnings as heatwave bakes city and prompts jump in calls for help by elderly
Hong Kong is expected to tie a weather record set in 2016 for the most number of consecutive “very hot” days for the month of June, the Observatory has said, as a concern group warns the heatwave is leading to more elderly residents seeking help.
Thursday was the hottest day of the year so far, with the forecaster reporting the temperature hit 34.4 degrees Celsius (93.92 Fahrenheit) at its headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui. The mercury could rise to 35 degrees or higher in parts of the city on Friday, it said.
A “very hot weather” warning, indicating the temperature has reached 33 degrees or more, has been issued every day since Thursday last week. The city was now in reach of a record last set in 2016, when nine straight days of such warnings were issued in June, according to the forecaster.
The maximum temperature of 34 degrees recorded last Friday also matched the record for the hottest summer solstice in 1980.
“Under the influence of the subtropical ridge, hot weather will continue today and tomorrow in southern China, including Hong Kong, with chances of extremely hot weather with temperatures of 35 degrees or above,” Acting Assistant Director Cheng Yuen-chung said on Thursday.
He said summer temperatures in the city would rise with global warming and that the average temperature this year was expected to be among the top 10 highest in city records.
Senior Citizen Home Safety Association CEO Maura Wong Hung-hung said elderly residents were among the most vulnerable groups affected by the hot weather, as they were more susceptible to heatstroke.
Prolonged heat could also have a delayed effect on older people suffering chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and heart diseases, she added.
The association, which operates a 24-hour emergency hotline for the elderly, said it received more than 1,800 calls a day last week between June 17 and 21, up by about 15 per cent from the average daily of more than 1,560 the previous week.
The number of cases involving elderly residents sent to hospital also rose more than 20 per cent over the same period, with symptoms including dizziness and body pains, Wong said.
“Very hot weather can cause heat exhaustion and heatstroke. It can also lead to dizziness, headache, dehydration and even decline in cognitive function, or make people feel irritable, cause insomnia, affect their mental state or lead to cardiovascular diseases,” she said.
She added that some older people had said the heat had affected their daily routines and prompted them to spend more time at home. They were engaging in fewer social activities, eating less and suffering from poor sleep, she said.
Wong called on the elderly to stay alert to the prolonged heat, advising them to drink more water, wear hats, avoid prolonged exposure to hot weather outdoors and maintain good ventilation at home.
According to the forecast, the subtropical ridge would continue to bring generally fine and very hot weather to Guangdong province while a tropical disturbance near the Philippines would bring showers to the region.
A few showers are expected in the following couple of days, but the very hot weather will remain over parts of the city, according to the forecast.
The Observatory recorded a total of 54 very hot days last year, as well as four extremely hot days when the maximum temperature reached 35 degrees or above.
Climate projections from the forecaster suggested that Hong Kong could see as many as 80 very hot days by mid-century under the highest greenhouse gas emission scenario.
Leung Wing-mo, a former assistant director of the Observatory, earlier said climate change played a “vital role” in the city’s very hot days and growing number of heatwaves.
“Without exception, heatwaves are the extreme weather that is strongly associated with global warming,” he said.
