Hong Kong's poorest struggle as record heat forces costly choices between cooling and survival

An elderly Hong Kong resident who lives in a 100 sq ft subdivided flat has resorted to spending hours in an air-conditioned shopping mall arcade in Kwai Chung this summer, unable to afford the electricity bills from cooling his cramped home. The 70-something retiree, identified only as Yung, runs his air conditioner for just one hour each night before bed, then wakes around 1am drenched in sweat.

Record heat exposes vulnerability gaps

Yung's coping strategy reflects a wider crisis among underprivileged residents whose health and sleep patterns have been thrown into disarray by extreme temperatures. The city logged 36.9 degrees Celsius at the Observatory's Tsim Sha Tsui headquarters on 9 August, the highest reading since record-keeping began in 1884.

"There have been more instances this year when I have felt dizzy, with a tightness in my chest, inside my flat," Yung told reporters. He and his wife ration cooling to avoid steep utility costs, even as conditions inside their subdivided unit turn hot and stuffy.

Heatwaves set to intensify by 2040

The episode raises urgent questions about Hong Kong's climate resilience as scientific projections point to more frequent and geographically extensive heatwaves. A May study published in a scientific journal warns that such extreme weather will affect larger swaths of the Pearl River Delta, including Hong Kong, by 2040. The forecast signals that episodes like this summer's record-breaker will become routine rather than exceptional, putting mounting pressure on the city's infrastructure, social safety nets and public health systems.

Source: South China Morning Post