‘Covered in bites’: Pests and extreme heat worsen health risks for Hong Kong’s homeless – NGO

Hong Kong's homeless are facing increasing health risks due to rising temperatures and pest infestations, warns local NGO ImpactHK. The extreme weather pattern of alternating between record-breaking heat and heavy rainfall has created ideal breeding grounds for pests such as mosquitoes and midges near overcrowded homeless areas.

Between July and August, the NGO conducted 15 days of environment monitoring and pest sampling at four locations, collecting over 60 questionnaires from occupants. Cherry Street Pedestrian Subway in Tai Kok Tsui had the highest pest density, with 348 insects collected, averaging 23.2 per day. Tung Chau Street Park in Sham Shui Po recorded 135 pests over nine monitoring days, averaging 15 per day.

Heatstroke risks also rise as survey respondents experienced more severe pest problems compared to staying in hostels. Cockroaches, rats, midges, and fleas emerged as common issues, with infestation rates of cockroaches and rats reaching 79 to 83 percent at parks, tunnels, and footbridges. Additionally, 100% of respondents at the Tsim Sha Tsui Cultural Centre reported midge problems.

The NGO found that 62 percent of respondents reported severe sleep disruption during heat warnings, and over 37 percent experienced heatstroke symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and nausea. One homeless man surnamed Chow, who lived on the street for over five years in Causeway Bay, urged the government to open air-conditioned heat shelters daily throughout the summer, as his hands and feet were covered in bites, making sleep impossible.

ImpactHK recommended keeping shelters open throughout the summer to address rising temperatures' impact on homeless people, ensuring shelters are within a 15-minute walk from residents, and extending public bathhouse opening hours. Nearly half of surveyed respondents struggled to find a place to bathe. The NGO also suggested deploying medical outreach teams with pest prevention supplies more frequently and prioritizing homeless people at District Health Centres.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that heatwave intensity and frequency have increased since the 1950s due to human-induced climate change, raising surface temperatures and posing lethal risks during prolonged periods of extreme heat. Hong Kong has already warmed by 1.7 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, and research NGO Berkeley Earth predicts lethal heat levels may become impossible to endure in some parts of the world by the end of the century.