Observatory warns of increased floods and more powerful typhoons

The city should brace itself for increasingly powerful typhoons and more widespread flooding in the next few decades as the climate warms and sea levels rise, the Hong Kong Observatory has warned.

Sea levels are expected to rise by 40cm on average by the middle of the century as temperatures increase by at least two degrees Celsius, Observatory meteorologists said.

"Hong Kong is like a frog in water that is gradually being brought to the boil; people do not seem to be aware of the long-term effects of climate change," said Observatory assistant director Edwin Lai Sau-tak.

Low-lying flood black spots such as San Tin and Shek Wu Wai in Yuen Long, and areas in Tai Po and North district, would be at higher risk of extreme flooding.

By the end of the century, sea levels are forecast to rise by 80cm and temperatures by between three and six degrees, according to new Observatory data.

Referring to the 2004 Hollywood movie The Day After Tomorrow, which portrayed a world suffering disasters brought on by global warming, Lai said: "I think The Day after Tomorrow actually happened yesterday."

The Observatory sounded the warning based on an analysis of the latest report issued by the Geneva-based Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, (IPCC) a scientific body operating under the auspices of the UN.