Hongkongers should enjoy cold spell while it lasts, as experts say global warming to push mercury higher in coming winters
- Hong Kong Meteorological Society says city will experience ‘more hot and very hot days’, gradually warmer winters as a result of climate change
- ‘It is not exceptional or anything special to have a cold December, but as far as the long-term trend is concerned, we’re going to see less and less cold days,’ it adds
Hongkongers should enjoy the current cold spell while they can, as experts say the city will experience fewer cooler days in coming winters as global warming pushes the mercury higher.
“It is not exceptional or anything special to have a cold December, but as far as the long-term trend is concerned, we’re going to see less and less cold days,” Hong Kong Meteorological Society spokesman Leung Wing-mo said.
“We are also going to see more hot and very hot days, simply because of global warming.”
The Hong Kong Observatory on Friday said the minimum temperature recorded at its Tsim Sha Tsui headquarters was 8.6 degrees Celsius (47.5 Fahrenheit), the coldest reading so far this winter.
On Tai Mo Shan, the city’s tallest peak at 957 metres (3,140 feet), temperatures dipped to below freezing at minus 1.6 degrees at around 5am.