April in Hong Kong has got off to an unseasonably hot start, with highs of 31 degrees Celsius forecast for Thursday.
The temperature on Monday, the final day of the long Easter weekend, reached 29.1 degrees, while the mean temperature was 27.3 degrees, well above the monthly mean of 23 degrees Celsius, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
The highest temperature ever recorded in April was in 1965, when the Observatory logged 33.4 degrees Celsius.
Last month, the city saw its hottest March day since records began in 1884, when the maximum temperature measured at the Observatory hit 31.5 degrees Celsius on March 24. The monthly mean of 21.1 degrees was 1.6 degrees Celsius above the climatological normal.
The hot weather was expected to continue, with a trough of low pressure forecast to bring showers and thunderstorms to the region over the weekend.
Hot year ahead
Hong Kong Observatory Director Chan Pak-wai said in March that the city could expect another hot year, after sweating through its second-hottest on record in 2023, when the annual mean temperature was 24.5 degrees Celsius.
Hong Kong last year recorded its hottest summer since records began in 1884, and was subsequently pummelled by Super Typhoon Saola and record-breaking rainfall in September.
Climate experts have warned that extreme weather events, including extreme heat, will become more frequent going forward, and that such conditions will affect those living in poorer districts more quickly than those in wealthier areas.
See also: Wealthy Hong Kong districts will warm at a cooler pace than poorer areas, study finds
Those who work outside are also at greater risk of suffering from heat stress as a result of rising temperatures. New guidelines introduced by the government last year to help prevent heat stroke among outdoor workers were criticised for being hard to follow and nonbinding. A survey conducted last August found that 60 per cent of outdoor workers had experienced heatstroke symptoms in the three months since the warning system was launched.
Globally, the past nine years were the warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. Last year also saw global mean sea levels reach all-time highs owing to the melting of glaciers, ice sheets and continued ocean warming.
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