Hong Kong temperature reaches 31.1 degrees Celsius, haze to persist until later this week

On two cloud-free days, the haze situation differed dramatically from September 2007 (left) to April 2006 (right). Photo: Wikipedia

Hong Kong has experienced its hottest day of the year so far, with the city’s forecaster reporting a temperature of 31.1 degrees Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) at its headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui at noon on Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Observatory issued a very hot weather warning at 1.45pm, with temperatures in Sheung Shui soaring to 36.3 degrees.

Low visibility from sand and dusty weather at the weekend was likely to persist until later this week, the Observatory said, while a doctor warned residents in high-risk groups to reduce their outdoor activities when the air quality was poor.

Yeung Kwok-chung, a senior scientific officer with the Observatory, said the last time that Hong Kong had been affected by such severe hazy weather was 15 years ago.

“Although there is a chance of an easterly wind on Wednesday, where there is a possibility that the current weather situation will slowly ease. This will depend on the strength of the wind and the conditions allowing for the dispersal of the air,” he told a radio programme.

“There is a chance that this low visibility condition will last until the middle to latter parts of this week, which is the Easter holiday.”

Yeung said the forecaster had recorded visibility levels of about 5km (3.1 miles) on Monday at its headquarters between 11am and noon, which rose to about 6km during the latter parts of Monday to Tuesday.

He added that a northeasterly wind in dry conditions across deserts in mainland China led to sand and dirt being thrown up into the atmosphere.

Yeung said the last time the city had seen such a serious instance of sand and dust was in 2010 when it also affected other parts of Asia such as Japan and South Korea

On Monday evening, air pollution in more than 10 areas in Hong Kong reached the highest health risk levels under the government’s Air Quality Health Index (AQHI).

The index uses a scale from 1 to 10 and 10+ and assesses air pollution according to five health risk categories, “low”, “moderate”, “high”, “very high”, and “serious”.

The AQHI reached “very high” levels on Monday morning and rose to “serious” by late afternoon. At 6pm on Monday, 14 out of 18 general and roadside stations had reached “serious” levels, including in Central, Causeway Bay, Mong Kok, Tuen Mun, Tai Po and North district.

At 10.30am on Tuesday, the air quality in 14 areas had reached the level of “high” or worse.

Family doctor Lam Wing-wo, speaking on the same radio show, said residents in high-risk groups should reduce their exposure to the dusty air. These included the elderly, children, and those with respiratory conditions, cardiovascular diseases or heart failure.

“If the air quality health index reaches ‘serious’, residents – especially high-risk individuals – should stay at home and avoid coming into contact with the air outside as this may worsen their existing conditions,” Lam said.

However, he added that residents in these groups need not worry too much about minimal exposure to poor air quality as adverse long-term effects to the body would only occur under prolonged exposure.

Source: SCMP