Hongkongers are set to endure a week-long heatwave from Friday, with highs of up to 30 degrees Celsius expected into next week, according to the Observatory (HKO).

It comes after the weather service reported record-breaking heat during March.

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“Under the influence of a southerly airstream, it will be hot over the coast of Guangdong in the next few days,” the Observatory said on Friday. “An anticyclone aloft will cover the northern part of the South China Sea and the coast of southern China early next week.”

By lunchtime on Friday, temperatures had already topped 30 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city.

Showers are expected across southern China and Hong Kong late next week and into next weekend.

Record heat in March

The Observatory noted last week that the city had experienced an unseasonably warm March.

Last month, Hong Kong saw a monthly mean temperature of 21.5 degrees Celsius – the second highest on record. The monthly mean maximum temperature of 24.5 degrees Celsius was the third-highest on record.

In March, the HKO said that the city had experienced its warmest winter on record, with an average temperature reaching 19.3 degrees Celsius.

Also last month, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned that the planet’s climate is more out of balance than at any time in history, with Earth gaining much more heat energy than it can release.

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.

“Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said on World Meteorological Day last month. “Humanity has just endured the 11 hottest years on record. When history repeats itself 11 times, it is no longer a coincidence. It is a call to act.”

By Yan Zhao and Catherine Lai

Hong Kong’s beloved kapok trees are not blooming the way they used to, drawing concern from conservationists who see it as a sign that nature is falling out of sync as the climate warms.

Locally known as “hero trees” for their majestic appearance, kapoks attract large numbers of photographers every spring when their bright red flowers bloom on otherwise bare branches.

But that contrast has been fading in recent years as leaves that should have been shed during winter stay put as the seasons change, worrying researchers.

“The kapok trees we see now very often have both flowers and leaves at the same time,” said Lam Chiu-ying, former director of the Hong Kong Observatory.

“In some places, half the tree is covered in green leaves and the other half in red flowers.”

The kapok, also known as the red silk-cotton tree, is native to tropical and subtropical Asia, including southern China.

The shift in their springtime appearance has “become increasingly common” over the past decade due to warming winters caused by climate change, Lam told AFP.

Hong Kong has just recorded its warmest winter on record, with the mean temperature from December to February hitting 19.3 °C, two degrees higher than normal, according to the observatory.

Angie Ng, an ecologist and conservation manager at local NGO The Conservancy Association, said the trees seemed to be blooming about two weeks earlier than usual this year, likely due to climate factors like temperature and moisture.

The trees have to divert resources to maintain both old leaves and new flowers, which may result in fewer blooms, she said.

The disruption could have knock-on effects on wildlife, as flowers provide nectar for birds and pollen for bees.

“Ecological processes function like an intricate web,” Ng says.

“When the timing of animals and plants does not align properly, it can trigger ripple effects that impact not only animals dependent on those plants but also the broader ecological chains.”