Extreme heat grips Hong Kong as labour groups urge district-level index

Hong Kong experienced extreme heat on Wednesday, with temperatures reaching 37.5 degrees Celsius (99.5 Fahrenheit) in certain areas, leading to calls for a district-level heat index to safeguard outdoor workers. The Hong Kong Observatory issued extreme heat and amber heat stress warnings, which remained in effect until 5.50pm. Record temperatures were recorded in Yuen Long (37.5°C), Sheung Shui (37.2°C), and Ta Kwu Ling (37.1°C), surpassing the previous highest level of 36.9°C at the Observatory's Tsim Sha Tsui headquarters in September.

Professor Benjamin Horton, dean of City University's energy and environment school, suggested that a district-level heat advisory system would better account for the varying levels of heat stress across the city, as air temperature alone does not reflect the unique vulnerability of each locality. Hong Kong already possesses the necessary infrastructure to implement such a system, according to Horton.

Li Wing-foo, chairman of the Staffs and Workers Union of Hong Kong Civil Airlines, argued that warnings should be issued at a district level, particularly for areas like the northern New Territories and airport aprons, which may experience far higher temperatures than urban stations. The current Heat Stress at Work Warning system, launched in May 2023, considers temperature, humidity, wind, solar radiation, and hospital admissions, with alerts divided into amber, red, and black tiers.

However, some workers reported not receiving adequate rest breaks during the amber warning, while Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui Chark-shum announced plans to lower the activation thresholds for temperature and solar radiation to trigger higher-tier alerts during extreme heat. The Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions also called for heatstroke and heat-related illnesses to be added to the statutory occupational disease list, as current compensation claims often struggle to establish a direct causal link between outdoor work and heat-related illnesses.

Lastly, Mickey Yan of the Hong Kong Property Services Alliance suggested the government follow the mainland Chinese model of establishing dedicated rest areas for workers to provide safe shelter during severe weather.