Hongkongers will endure a week-long heatwave from Friday, with maximum temperatures of up to 30 degrees Celsius expected next week, according to the Observatory (HKO).
This comes after the weather service reported record heat during March.
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“Under the influence of a southerly air current, it will be hot over the Guangdong coast in the next few days,” the Observatory said on Friday. “An aloft anticyclone will cover the northern part of the South China Sea and the coast of southern China early next week.”
By lunchtime on Friday, temperatures had already reached 30 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city.
Rain is expected in southern China and Hong Kong late next week and into next weekend.
Record heat in March
Observatory pointed out last week the city had experienced an unusually warm March.
Last month, Hong Kong saw an average monthly temperature of 21.5 degrees Celsius – the second highest on record. The average monthly maximum temperature of 24.5 degrees Celsius was the third highest on record.
In March, HKO said the city had experienced its warmest winter on record, with an average temperature reaching 19.3 degrees Celsius.
Also last month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that the planet’s climate is more out of balance than at any time in history, with Earth gaining far more thermal energy than it can emit.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that the intensity and frequency of heat waves have continued to increase since the 1950s due to human-induced climate change. The release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide – which traps heat in the atmosphere – increases the planet’s surface temperature, with hotter and longer heatwaves that threaten lives.
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Hong Kong has already warmed by 1.7 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, according to research NGO Berkeley Earth. says. Heat and humidity could reach deadly levels for long periods until the end of the century, according to a 2023 STUDYmaking it impossible to stay outside in some parts of the world.
“Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red.” said UN Secretary General António Guterres on World Meteorological Day last month. “Humanity has just endured the 11 hottest years on record. When history repeats itself 11 times, it’s no longer a coincidence. It’s a call to action.”
