'Substandard housing tenants face extreme heat'

Concerned voices are emerging over the plight of low-income residents in substandard housing facing extreme heat during the summer. A joint survey by the Concerning Subdivided Units Alliance and CarbonCare InnoLab examined the conditions of 78 households from late June to early July. The study revealed that indoor temperatures soared up to 44.4 degrees, with "feels-like" temperatures reaching a scorching 52 degrees during the day and staying high at 51 degrees at night.

An alarming 74 percent of respondents reported experiencing symptoms of heat exhaustion, while 70 percent complained of poor sleep quality due to the unbearable heat at night.

One resident in his 70s, sharing a cramped 80-square-foot unit with his wife in Kwai Chung, recounted how his wife suffered from dizziness, breathing difficulties, and chest tightness because of the intense heat. Another woman and her family of three, living in a similarly sized unit and paying HK$4,000 a month in rent—roughly one-third of their total income—spend almost their entire day at a local community living room to escape the suffocating conditions.

"It’s summer break now and I’m taking care of my child full-time," she shared. "The community living room is open from 11am to 10pm, so we head over as soon as it opens and only return home when it closes."

Policy analyst Ho Wai-fun from CarbonCare InnoLab pointed out that many of these households simply cannot afford to run air conditioning for extended periods due to financial constraints. Inadequate ventilation only exacerbates the problem, as most of the interviewed residents live in standard subdivided flats with limited window openings.

According to Ho, indoor temperatures consistently remained above the Observatory's warm night threshold of 28 degrees, with average night-time temperatures reaching 29.4 degrees. Senior programme manager Kwok Hiu-chung from CarbonCare InnoLab called for authorities to include "indoor high temperature" and "night-time heat risk" in the city's upcoming climate action plan.

He proposed mandating heat insulation and shading as minimum standards for basic housing units and providing targeted energy subsidies during the summer months.