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Hong Kong weighs lowering thresholds for higher-tier heat warnings
The Labour Department faced criticism after Hong Kong reached 36.9 C on Sunday but the Heat Stress at Work Warning System stayed at its lowest level.
Hong Kong authorities are considering lowering the threshold for triggering higher-tier heat stress warnings during abnormally hot weather after public criticism that the system did not escalate during the city’s hottest day on record, according to the SCMP Economy.
Labour Commissioner Sam Hui Chark-shum said the Heat Stress at Work Warning System is currently more sensitive to “muggy weather” than to purely high temperature and strong solar radiation, and that the government plans to improve its sensitivity in periods of extreme heat.
Hui said the system accounts for air temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation, but that the weighting is localized to Hong Kong’s climate, noting that high humidity and low wind can reduce cooling efficiency and raise health risk even if temperature is not as high as elsewhere.
The Labour Department drew scrutiny after the warning system remained at the lowest level while a forecaster recorded 36.9 degrees Celsius, or 103 degrees Fahrenheit, on Sunday afternoon, the highest temperature since records began in 1884.