Hong Kong’s ‘cold dew’ days are not cool any more. Why?

A small shift in the climate because of global warming took the cool out of Hong Kong’s “cold dew” day on Wednesday, meteorologists warned, with social workers calling for corresponding measures to mitigate the effects of rising temperatures on low-income families and workers.

Former Hong Kong Observatory director Lam Chiu-ying noted that local temperatures had reached as high as 36 degrees Celsius (97 Fahrenheit) on “cold dew”, the 17th of 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese forecast system believed to signify a transition to cooler weather.

“When I was a teenager, by the Mid-Autumn Festival, we’d have to put on our wool vests, but Hong Kong issued a ‘very hot weather warning’ [on Wednesday],” Lam said.

“We’ve sometimes grown accustomed to the heat that we gradually forget that the climate has undergone significant change. We must remind ourselves that the world’s climate is abnormal and is even becoming increasingly extreme.”

He said low-income residents would suffer first, including cleaners, street vendors, construction workers, couriers, subdivided flat dwellers and others.

“But sooner or later, everyone will be affected by food shortages and disease mutations. No one will be immune,” Lam warned.