Between five and eight tropical storms may come within 500 kilometres of Hong Kong this year, with higher than average temperatures expected, according to Observatory Director Chan Pak-wai.
“Extreme weather can become more frequent because of the climate change,” Chan said at a Thursday press briefing. “So Hong Kong citizens are reminded to get prepared for extreme weather, especially pay close attention to the weather forecast and warnings issued by the Observatory and get earlier prepared.”
According to the government forecaster, 2024 may be one of Hong Kong’s hottest years on record, with the typhoon season starting in June and ending in October or later.
Record-breaking heat
Hong Kong experienced its second-hottest year on record in 2023, with all 12 months warmer than usual as the annual mean temperature reached 24.5 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, the past nine years were the warmest on record globally, according to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Last year also saw global mean sea levels reach all-time highs owing to the melting of glaciers, ice sheets and continued ocean warming.
“Heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones caused misery and mayhem, upending every-day life for millions and inflicting many billions of dollars in economic losses,” the WMO’s State of the Global Climate 2023 report said on Tuesday.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said that the “climate crisis is the defining challenge that humanity faces and is closely intertwined with the inequality crisis – as witnessed by growing food insecurity and population displacement, and biodiversity loss.”
On Thursday, Observatory chief Chan said that new technology would aid the local predictionsin the future, with a weather radar being replaced on Tai Mo Shan.
He also highlighted the Observatory’s AI-powered weather prediction models, which have been used since mid-2023 to enhance tropical cyclone tracks and weather forecasts: “We expect that the monitoring of severe weather, just like hail and heavy rain, may be enhanced with the use of the new hardware,” he added.
Hong Kong was devastated by record rainfall last September, which caused widespread flooding and landslides across the territory. On Thursday, the government announced that Yiu Hing Road in Shau Kei Wan would partially reopen on Saturday, after being inaccessible for more than six months.
“During the torrential rain on September 8, 2023, a severe landslide occurred on a natural slope about 60 to 100 metres above Yiu Hing Road, during which a large amount of boulders mixed with silt were washed down to the surface of the slope below and Yiu Hing Road,” a statement issued on Thursday said.
The westbound lane of Yiu Hing Road will reopen to traffic on Saturday, while the Highways Department will continue to reinforce the slope “with a view to fully reopening the carriageway and footpaths of Yiu Hing Road by the end of June this year.”
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