‘This is an unhealthy environment’: Arctic researcher Li Xueke leaves the US for Hong Kong

For climate scientist Li Xueke, the decision to leave the University of Pennsylvania for Hong Kong was a pivot to the front lines of the global green economy. As climate change turns the Arctic into a seasonally navigable ocean, Li’s research on critical new shipping routes could shed light on the economic impacts of a warming planet. Li joined City University of Hong Kong (CityU) last month as an assistant professor in the school of energy and environment, following a decade of study and work in the United States. “For me, the most important thing for Hong Kong and what attracts me most is its strategic position at the intersection of climate science, innovation and global connectivity,” Li said. “As a climate scientist trying to address this global climate challenge, it is hard for me to imagine a more exciting place to be right now.” Li is among a growing cohort of researchers moving to Asia as the American research environment faces rising political and financial tensions, with US President Donald Trump terminating grants for climate-related research projects and trying to dismantle a top federally funded climate research centre. “The opportunity for us to do climate science is less than before. It is very hard … especially for us running computational, state-of-the-art climate models. We need funding to make this flow work,” she said. “But because of unexpected changes, we suffer and struggle in our research. This is an unhealthy environment for climate scientists.” Li’s research aims to advance understanding of climate variability and extremes, and their impact on the environment and society, connecting data and modelling to the maritime industry. “As the climate changes, it rapidly transforms the Arctic from what once was a frozen north into a seasonally navigable ocean,” she said. “Compared to the Suez Canal route, it can reduce the distance by 40 per cent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 30 per cent. It also saves millions of dollars in fuel costs per voyage and can help diversify global supply chains.” In addition to the Russia-controlled Northern Sea Route, fast-melting sea ice is opening up a corridor known as the Central Arctic Route. Li said this path near the North Pole could become viable by the middle of the century or sooner, allowing vessels to bypass geopolitical conflicts affecting the older route. She said that Hong Kong, as a global supply chain and logistics hub, was of strategic importance to her research on Arctic shipping. She added that the city was in a great position to make the most of these changes. But this opportunity carries risks, with sea ice retreating and reforming rapidly, creating uncertainties for maritime traffic. “For shipping companies [that] would like to do this trans-Arctic route, it might take [around] half a month or so,” she said. “If you are stuck in the middle, it might present high economic costs to shippers.” She aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) to refine climate models, which she said suffered from “coarse resolution” due to the need to balance spatial detail against long-term simulation requirements. Better models could better inform shipping operators about navigation windows and routes. Li earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Taiyuan University of Technology in 2011 and a master’s degree in cartography and geographic information systems from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2014. She moved to the United States, completing a PhD in geography at the University of Connecticut in 2019. Li then worked as a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University until 2022. She joined the University of Pennsylvania’s department of Earth and environmental science in 2023 as a postdoctoral fellow and became a research associate last year. For Li, leaving the US meant stepping away from a decade of deep professional networks and supportive peers. “Transitioning to a new environment is exciting, but sometimes you might be reluctant about the decision – if I really need to make this step,” she said. “After factoring in all factors, I found that moving to Hong Kong is the best choice for me because it provides ample opportunities for climate research [and] sustainable energy.” That decision was coloured by a growing sense of instability in US research, including the Trump administration’s proposal to dismantle the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in December, which was blocked by a judge in June. The centre is considered a cornerstone of global Earth system science. “I still remember when I first heard about that, it was during the American Geophysical Union’s annual meeting last year,” she said. The conference is the biggest gathering of Earth and space scientists, with more than 25,000 international attendees. “Climate scientists felt very disappointed,” she said, adding that the union had written a letter to the National Science Foundation, which sponsors the NCAR, asking them to “make every effort not to shut it down”. Li remains connected to her peers in the US. “Climate science has no boundaries. It is really encouraging that we can still collaborate with peers and mentors in the US,” she said. As she builds her lab at CityU, her research on how climate change affects extreme weather events will grow from her new Hong Kong base. Upon arriving in Hong Kong in late May, she was struck by the city’s “humid heatwave”, a combination of humidity and high temperatures that impedes the body’s ability to sweat and cool itself. “This first-hand experience is important to us climate scientists,” she said. “It directly connects climate science to people’s daily lives and it motivates my research [into] how humid heatwaves evolve under climate change and how that impacts human health as well as urban resilience in a changing climate.”

‘This is an unhealthy environment’: Arctic researcher Li Xueke leaves the US for Hong Kong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Li is among a growing cohort of US-based researchers moving to Asia as Donald Trump terminates grants for climate-related projects

Li is among a growing cohort of US-based researchers moving to Asia as Donald Trump terminates grants for climate-related projects