Environmental NGO urges stronger climate policies as Hong Kong faces extreme summer heat

An environmental NGO has urged the Hong Kong government to prioritise the climate crisis and strengthen its climate adaptation policies, as the city is expected to endure an extremely hot summer this year.

A heatwave in Hong Kong in late May 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Friends of the Earth said on Monday that as May drew to a close, Hong Kong and many parts of the world had already experienced mid-summer temperatures ahead of schedule.

“Early onset of extreme heat in many parts of the world is a clear warning of the intensifying climate crisis,” the NGO said in the Chinese-language statement.

“We urge the government to put the climate crisis at the top of its agenda, by placing carbon reduction at the core and setting more aggressive emission reduction targets.”

Authorities should make a thorough climate risk assessment, utilising big data, artificial intelligence, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to analyse the vulnerability of various districts to extreme heat, torrential rain, storm surges, and sea-level rise, the statement said.

The NGO also called on the government to enhance the city’s infrastructure to withstand the climate crisis, including improving coastal flood defence facilities and drainage systems in older districts.

According to the statement, “global warming is making extreme weather more frequent and severe, and the climate crisis already poses a significant threat to public health, economic security, urban resilience, and social justice.”

Friends of the Earth also called for the protection of vulnerable groups, including the elderly, children, people with chronic illnesses, low-income families, homeless people, and those who work outdoors.

El Niño

Hong Kong has endured particularly high temperatures since early last week.

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) issued the “very hot weather warning” three times within a week: on May 26, May 30, and June 2.

Choy Chun-wing, the HKO’s acting assistant director, said at a press conference on Thursday that Hong Kong would see “hotter than normal” temperatures this year and next year under the influence of climate change and El Niño.

Firefighters clean a drain during a flood in Wong Tai Sin on July 20, 2025, as Typhoon Wipha nears the city. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific will continue to rise, developing into an El Niño event during the summer and autumn, which will persist at least until the end of this year or the beginning of next year, Choy said.

Scientists have warned that the El Niño weather phenomenon will bring hotter temperatures, stronger storms, drought, and flooding.

Planet warming

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that the intensity and frequency of heatwaves have continued to increase since the 1950s due to human-caused climate change. The prevalence of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide – which trap heat in the atmosphere – raises the planet’s surface temperature, with hotter, longer heatwaves putting lives at risk.

See also: How extreme heat became the deadliest silent killer among world weather disasters

Hong Kong has already warmed by 1.7 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, research NGO Berkeley Earth says. Heat and humidity may reach lethal levels for protracted periods by the end of the century, according to a 2023 study, making it impossible to stay outdoors in some parts of the world.