First 6 months of 2024 ‘abnormally warm’ in Hong Kong, with record high temperature for period
Hong Kong Free Press
The first six months of 2024 have been “abnormally warm” in Hong Kong according to the government forecaster, with a mean minimum temperature of 21.4 degrees Celsius from January to June the highest ever recorded for the period.
June, which began with “generally cloudier and showery weather,” ended with nine consecutive very hot days from June 20 to 28, the Hong Kong Observatory said in a statement on Wednesday, noting that is was “one of the longest [periods] on record for June.”
Last Thursday, charity the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association said it had seen “a significant increase in the number of help requests from the elderly and recorded a surge of over 20 per cent in the number of elderly individuals being sent to hospitals” during the heatwave, when temperatures generally reached at least 33 degrees.
Despite being cloudier than usual, June’s rainfall was 281.3 millimetres, about 43 per cent below the monthly normal of 491.5 millimetres in June.
It was also hotter than usual, with the mean temperature of 28.8 degrees Celsius, 0.5 degrees above the normal.
“With five out of the six months warmer than usual, the first half of 2024 was abnormally warm,” the Observatory said. The mean minimum temperature of 21.4 degrees Celsius, mean temperature of 23.3 degrees and mean maximum temperature of 25.8 degrees were respectively the highest, one of the highest, and the second highest since records began in 1884.
The Observatory has forecast that 2024 will be one of the hottest Hong Kong has ever seen as extreme heat intensifies as the planet warms, predictions that have already played out in the city’s hottest ever April, a phenomenon that was repeated across the globe.
Among those most at risk of rising temperatures is Hong Kong’s ageing population. Elderly people are more vulnerable to the negative effects of high temperatures such as heatstroke, especially those living alone, in sub-standard living conditions, or without air conditioning.
July began much as June ended, with very hot weather warnings in force on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and “generally fine and very hot” weather forecast for the next few days. According to the Observatory, temperatures rose to around 34 degrees Celsius in urban areas on Wednesday afternoon, with one weather app showing a “feels like” temperature of 37 degrees at around 6 pm.
Environmental experts have called on the city to implement more progressive and proactive environmental policies to address the climate crisis, including conserving the natural environment and speeding up the transition to green energy.
Recent analysis by Climate Central, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, and World Weather Attribution estimated that 6.3 billion people – about 78 per cent of the global population – experienced at least 31 days of atypical warmth in the 12 months following May 15, 2023.
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