Hong Kong is already experiencing the heat of summer even though summer is just halfway through! The highest temperature ever recorded in Hong Kong since records began in 1884 was 36.1 degrees on July 24 2022[1], according to the Hong Kong Observatory, and the temperature on the day of Sheung Shui was close to 39 degrees. Not only Hong Kong, the extreme heat wave also covered the world: the United Kingdom recorded a record high temperature of over 40 degrees in mid-July [2], and the British Meteorological Office issued a red alert for the first time in its history; France, Spain, Portugal and many other European countries also recorded the same high temperature, and at least 1,700 people died due to high temperatures in Spain and Portugal alone. [3]

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To combat climate change, nearly 200 countries have signed the "Paris Climate Agreement" in 2015. By signing the agreement, these countries will attempt to control temperature increase within the 21st century to well below 2℃, and to further pursue to control such increase below 1.5℃. However, according to the most recent study from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2022, global warming might increase by 3.2°C in 2100, and in the worst case, even up to 5.7°C.

 

We do not have much time left to control temperature increase to below 1.5℃, in order to mitigate the associated climate change impact. We have no time to lose.