On Monday, Hong Kong saw its hottest summer on record in 2023, with the city witnessing “record-breaking” temperatures, the government said, the latest region to encounter the effect of a warming planet.
Climate change has fuelled hot temperatures across the earth already this year, with India, Japan, and Australia last week declaring recent temperature records toppled.
In the Chinese region of Hong Kong, officials stated on Monday that “together with the extremely hot weather in June and July, Hong Kong encountered the hottest summer on record from June to August 2023”.
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, Last Month, Hong Kong recorded a monthly mean temperature of 29.7 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit), the hottest August on record.
This year also witnessed the third-hottest July and fourth-hottest June since records began in 1884.
The top three warmest years in Hong Kong’s history were all recorded after 2018.
The Observatory added that August was also “much drier than usual with a total rainfall of 140.7 millimeters (5.5 inches).
Worldwide, temperature records have plunged in recent years, as climate change makes meteorological conditions more volatile.
Early in the summer, China recorded a record 41.1 degrees Celsius (105.98 Fahrenheit) temperature on a June day.
Scientists demand that global warming — connected to reliance on fossil fuels — is behind the intensification of heat waves.
Experts said that Climate change has also boosted the intensity of tropical storms, with more rain and stronger gusts leading to flash floods and coastal damage.
Hong Kong was struck over the weekend by Super Typhoon Saola but avoided major damage.
Hong Kong authorities have recently highlighted the necessity to save workers from heat stress but halted short of enacting new lawful securities.
