As the mercury rises and the city swelters, it's time for hotheads to hotfoot it to the beach. Fortunately, in Hong Kong you never need to travel too far to cool off because there are 41 government gazetted public bathing beaches that dot the city's coastline.
But finding your place in the sun on some beaches may mean having to put up with rubbish that has washed up on shore or been left behind by inconsiderate earlier beach-goers. The most common debris found on beaches includes broken glass, plastic bags, beverage bottles, foam boxes, and food wrappers and containers.
And if you venture out into the water, you might have to dodge a lot more than litter. Some beaches are polluted by sewage, usually a result of poor infrastructure - either sewage pipes do not run far enough out to sea or the waste is not properly treated. During and after periods of heavy rain, many beaches are also likely to be more polluted for up to 72 hours, because rivers and sewage tanks overflow.
Exposure to sewage can cause diseases such as gastroenteritis and diarrhoea, as well as enteric fever, hepatitis and kidney infection. Those with weaker immune systems, such as children and the elderly, may also be susceptible to viral respiratory infections. In some rare cases, exposure can be fatal.
But it's not all bad news. To keep Hong Kong's beaches as healthy and safe as possible, the Environmental Protection Department has a comprehensive monitoring programme in place. It grades beaches on a scale of one (good) to four (very poor), based on the bacterial (E coli) level in the water from the five most recent samples that have been taken.
This initiative, known as the Water Quality Objective, was implemented 25 years ago. Last year, the department monitored all 41 gazetted beaches and found that, for the first time, every one complied with the objective. It is a remarkable improvement from the 93 per cent recorded in 2009, and the 83 per cent recorded between 2003 and 2008.