Hongkongers sweated through the hottest day of the year on Friday, with the Observatory (HKO) recording a maximum temperature of 34.6 degrees Celsius at its headquarters.

The mercury neared 37 degrees Celsius in the northern part of the territory.

Meanwhile, the Observatory noted 1,263 instances of cloud-to-ground lightning on Friday, and 4,859 cases of cloud-to-cloud lightning.

The city is now set to see nine days of rain, the weather service predicts.

See also: How Hong Kong’s elderly face deadly heat inside cramped cage homes

“A broad trough of low pressure will linger over the vicinity of the coast of southern China to the northern part of the South China Sea during the weekend to midweek next week,” the Observatory said.

The amber rainstorm warning was raised at 10am on Saturday as violent gusts swept into the territory, raising the risk of flooding.

See also: NGO warns hot weather can worsen air quality, urges gov’t action on pollutants and cooling measures in hot districts

Climate crisis

Friday marked the hottest “Grain in Ear” solar term ever documented. The ninth traditional solar term, known in Chinese as Mangzhong, signifies a period when awny crops like wheat are ready to harvest.

This week, environmental NGO Friends of the Earth urged the Hong Kong government to prioritise the climate crisis and strengthen its climate adaptation policies, with the city expected to endure an extremely hot summer.

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.

A new UN study has named Hong Kong’s data centres as some of the most carbon-intensive in the world, blaming the city’s heavy dependence on a fossil-fuel-powered energy grid.

The report, titled “Environmental Cost of AI’s Energy Use,” examined the global carbon, land and water impacts of the infrastructure powering AI, saying that by 2030, data centres could consume 945 terawatt-hours.

That is “nearly triple the combined annual electricity use of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria, countries collectively home to more than 650 million people,” according to a UN press release.

“Indonesia, India, and Hong Kong (SAR) are among the most carbon-intensive grids with carbon footprints 62%, 51%, and 43% higher than the global average, respectively. Poland and Mainland China rank lower with carbon intensities at 30% and 21% higher than the global average,” the UN University’s Institute for Water, Environment and Health said in a report on Wednesday.

In comparison, the carbon footprint of electricity in the US, Germany, and Italy is 18 per cent, 24 per cent, and 32 per cent below the global average, respectively.

Energy in Hong Kong is 67 per cent derived from fossil fuels, 32 per cent from nuclear and just 1 per cent from renewables, the report said.

There is also a water footprint for cooling heat-intensive data centres, as well as a land footprint. “AI-related water consumption could equal the basic annual domestic needs of 1.3 billion people by the end of the decade, while its land footprint may exceed 14,500 square kilometres – roughly twice the size of the Jakarta metropolitan area,” the UN said.

However, Hong Kong was ranked among the lightest for water and land consumption, mostly because its energy mix does not rely on renewable energy sources, which require large amounts land.

As a trade and logistics hub, with around 300 internet service providers, Hong Kong remains a prime location for data centres. Its telecommunication networks connect to 12 external submarine optical fibre cable systems, with more under construction, according to the city’s Digital Policy Office.

The government is building a new 110,00 square metre data facility in Sandy Ridge, 90 per cent of which will be dedicated to data centres, according to a government press release in March.

Daily AI use, not training

The UN report said that day-to-day use of AI models accounted for around 80 to 90 per cent of total energy demand, as opposed to just model training. It cited the case of ChatGPT, which was processing around 2.5 billion prompts per day, with image generation requiring a thousand times more energy than a simple text query.

“China’s DeepSeek, launched in January 2025, attracted more than 20 million daily active users within three weeks, and had about 125 million monthly active users by mid-2025,” the report said.

According to the Digital Policy Office website, “data centre operators are all striving to enhance energy efficiency , so as to reduce their power consumption, their operating expense and also their environmental impacts.”

It cites existing policies by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), which set rules for ensuring the energy efficiency of buildings and regulate the use of fresh water in cooling towers for air conditioning systems.

The EMSD’s Green Data Centres Practice Guide lays out initiatives for efficient data centre design, procurement, operations and disposal, whilst also promoting the use of assessment tools to measure environmental impacts.

Funds raised for a Hong Kong hairstylist who died from nasopharyngeal cancer in April will be donated to NGO Cancer Information, as per his wishes.

Two rounds of fundraising initiatives for Pitt Cheung raised a total of HK$831,000 for his specialist treatment, leaving a balance of over HK$140,000 after his passing in April.

The fundraiser said that Cheung had exhausted radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments at public hospitals, so he switched to a recommended chemotherapy drug called Nab-paclitaxel, costing HK$72,000 per month.

Cheung died peacefully in hospital on April 26. A funeral for the 44-year-old was held on May 9.

“After deduct[ing] the expenses for chemotherapy, follow-up appointments, check-ups, the chemo port surgery and hospitalisation, we are left with HK$140,620. Per Pitt’s wishes, we will donate this sum to NGO @cancer_information,” a post on Cheung’s fundraising Instagram account said on Sunday.

“This NGO provided lots of professional support and companionship to Pitt when he was fighting cancer, and we hope the funds can be used to help more people.”

The post thanked the Hong Kong United Oncology Centre, where he was cared for, as well as donors, friends and family who supported his journey.

The Department of Health has said Hong Kong’s smoking rate dropped to a record low of 8.5 per cent, but it fell short of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended target.

“Hong Kong’s smoking rate has continued to decline from 23.3 per cent in the early 1980s to 8.5 per cent in 2025, hitting a record low,” the Department of Health said in a statement on Wednesday.

The smoking rate was 9.1 per cent in 2023.

Citing a Census and Statistics Department survey conducted from July to October last year, the department said around 540,000 Hong Kong residents had a daily habit of smoking conventional cigarettes.

“The decline of Hong Kong’s smoking rate to a record low is the result of years of concerted efforts by the public and various sectors of the community, making Hong Kong an international role model for successful tobacco control,” the head of the Department of Health’s Tobacco & Alcohol Control Office, Manny Lam, was quoted as saying in the statement.

However, Lam acknowledged the figure fell short of the city’s goal of lowering the smoking rate to 7.8 per cent – a figure recommended by the WHO.

He attributed the shortfall to Hong Kong’s already low baseline smoking rate. He said that although the smoking rate fell short, it still amounted to a 23.4 per cent decrease from the smoking rate of 11.1 per cent in 2010.

With Hong Kong’s smoking rate already low, “it was difficult to lower it by 30 per cent,” Lam said at a Wednesday press conference, referring to another WHO benchmark.

He also warned of the high costs of smoking, citing studies showing that Hong Kong suffered an economic loss of HK$8 billion annually due to smoking-related health conditions.

Quitting drive

The Department of Health also announced that as part of the “Quit in June” campaign, it would distribute free nicotine patches at community pharmacies, department clinics, smoking cessation clinics, and District Health Centres, as well as non-invasive “ear point” acupuncture patches at designated Chinese medicine clinics.

A new AI service, “Chat to Quit”, developed with the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) School of Nursing, is also available for personalised and interactive counselling, the department said.

Kelvin Wang, professor at HKU’s School of Nursing, said at the press conference that people could sign up and speak to the AI bot on WhatsApp, and those who had quit smoking after half a year would be invited to take carbon monoxide and cotinine tests.

Hong Kong banned the public possession of vapes and heated cigarettes on April 30.

As of May 23, authorities have issued 39 fixed penalty tickets under the new restriction.

Coal miners in the sleepy Chinese county of Qinyuan sometimes dine at Zhang’s skewer eatery, especially on payday, so a gas explosion that killed at least 82 of these workers left her feeling sorrow for their bereaved families.

The tragedy unfolded in northern Shanxi province, with preliminary findings showing the company operating the mine had committed “serious” violations, state media reported Saturday.

The blast caused China’s worst mining disaster in 17 years, with search efforts ongoing to find two people still missing, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

A total of 247 workers were underground at the time of the blast, which occurred at 7:29 pm (1129 GMT) on Friday at the Liushenyu coal mine, according to state news agency Xinhua.

“This is the first time such a big accident has happened here,” Zhang, who only wanted to be known by her surname, told AFP.

Many of these men were their families’ main source of income, she said.

“Think about it. He’s at that age where he has both elderly parents and young children to support. Then he works in the coal mine, goes down the shaft and never comes back up,” Zhang added.

“How are they supposed to go on living?”

‘Someone’s father’

Police blocked AFP reporters from entering a road leading to the mine but a building bearing its name with the Chinese characters lit up by orange lights was visible in the distance.

Security officers sat by the curb, strictly guarding the gantry of the roads, only allowing authorised vehicles in. Ambulances and police cars entered.

A security guard at the entrance brushed off AFP’s questions as to whether any progress in rescue efforts had been made, saying he didn’t know anything.

But the guard said he hadn’t slept at all Friday night because work was too busy with people coming in and out.

At a gas station near the mine, workers shooed AFP journalists away when they were asked about the mining disaster.

“We can’t just casually comment on these things,” one man told AFP, without giving his name.

“We’re not aware of the details — we don’t know the exact cause or the specific situation.”

He said he hoped the number of deaths “isn’t that high”, before he hurried back inside the station.

At another restaurant selling Sichuan cuisine, a worker with the surname Li told AFP he had noticed ambulances whizzing by his place, frequently patronised by coal mine workers.

But he said he hadn’t been too emotionally affected, despite initially being surprised by the death toll.

“Working in a coal mine, this kind of accident is inevitable,” he said, adding that he hoped the missing people would be found soon.

A total of 128 people were sent to hospital for treatment, CCTV said.

One of the hospitals that took in people injured in the mine tragedy was cordoned off with tape. AFP spotted multiple police cars surrounding its perimeter.

Qinyuan county is peppered with coal mines, and outside one an electronic sign reads: “Go to work happy, go home safely”.

Zhang, grilling meat skewers on a stove, said she had that same wish: for the missing miners to be found safe and sound.

Even if the pay was good, coal miners were “basically earning money with their lives at risk”, she lamented.

She expressed hope that authorities would do all they could to prevent accidents like this and increase mine safety.

Zhang said she feels for families who lost loved ones in the mine explosion.

“He is also someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s husband,” she said.

Hong Kong International Airport is among the top polluting hubs in the world, a UK thinktank has found.

On Wednesday, new data from global affairs thinktank ODI Global ranked Hong Kong’s airport as the world’s sixth most polluting in terms of flight CO2 emissions, and second in Asia-Pacific.

The study, based on 2023 data from the International Council on Clean Transportation, concluded that the fossil-fuel dependent aviation sector would be the fifth-largest emitter if it were a country.

Hong Kong emitted 15.1 million tonnes of CO2, and saw 138,764 flights, in 2023.

Seoul was Asia-Pacific’s most polluting airport, responsible for 16.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2023. Dubai topped the global ranking with 23.2 million tonnes of CO2, followed by London’s Heathrow.

The research also showed that Hong Kong’s airport was a significant source of local pollutants – it ranks ninth in the world, emitting 4,572 tonnes of nitrogen oxides in 2023.

The thinktank warned against reliance on so-called “sustainable” aviation fuels to bring down emissions, citing “high production costs and price premiums, limited policy support, weak long-term offtake commitments, bankability challenges and constraints on feedstock availability and sustainability.”

It also said that jet fuel emissions are predicted to increase and eat up future carbon budget: “The sector’s own high-growth scenario projects passenger demand could increase by 3.3% annually, from 9.0 trillion revenue passenger-kilometers (RPKs) in 2024 to 21.9 trillion RPKs in 2050. Between now and 2050, aviation is projected to consume 15% of the remaining carbon budget associated with 1.7ºC of warming.”

HKFP has reached out to the Environmental Protection Department and the Airport Authority for comment.

Hong Kong authorities have deployed powerful machines known as “water-pumping dragons” to clear flooding after the city’s northern territories were hit by heavy rainfall overnight.

The Drainage Services Department said on social media early on Thursday that its teams had cleared seven instances of flooding in the northern part of the New Territories using the devices, which authorities procured from mainland China last year due to more frequent extreme downpours.

The Observatory issued the red rainstorm warning at 2.40am due to heavy rain in the city’s border areas near Shenzhen, especially in Sheung Shui, Ta Kwu Ling, and Sha Tau Kok. A special landslide warning was also issued.

The rainstorm signal was downgraded to amber at 5.15am and eventually cancelled at 9.30am. The weather services warned of the risk of river flooding.

The heavy rain was associated with “upper-air disturbances… persistently affecting the vicinity of the Pearl River Estuary,” the Observatory said on Thursday.

“Locally, more than 50 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over widespread areas this morning, and rainfall even exceeded 100 millimetres over many parts of the New Territories,” it added.

The flooding was concentrated in Sheung Shui and Fanling, while the Shek Kong Airfield Road was also affected, according to the Drainage Services Department.

An emergency control centre was activated at 9.45pm on Wednesday, and 90 response teams were deployed to inspect and clear flooding, the department said.

Images and videos of severe flooding went viral on social media platforms. Clips posted on Threads show floodwater entering a bus in Ping Che and a taxi trapped on the road.

Last year, after the city hoisted the black rainstorm warning four times within a week, a former Observatory official warned that extreme weather would become more frequent due to the climate crisis.

The owners of a dredger, which has been stranded off Lamma Island all year, have been ordered to expedite their salvage plan after failing to remove the vessel by a previous deadline set for April.

The 50-year-old Sea Diamond, a dilapidated cutter suction dredger, remains partly submerged off Ha Mei Wan, a rural Lamma Island beach.

A Marine Department (MD) spokesperson said on Thursday that it had been in touch with the owners, who “had previously attempted to refloat the vessel by removing the superstructure and pumping out water from the flooded compartments in a bid to remove the vessel.”

“However, the progress has been delayed due to heavy rainfall from time to time in recent weeks. In addition, the damage to its hull was found to be more severe than anticipated, which has complicated the salvage operation. The MD is urging the shipowner to expedite the salvage process and remove the vessel as soon as possible,” the spokesperson added.

Dredgers are used as underwater excavators, cutting and sucking up material from the seabed before discharging it via pipelines.

The ageing Sea Diamond was built in Singapore in 1976. It is unclear who the current owner is.

The department said the owners had already breached the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance, risking a HK$10,000 fine, after they failed to report the incident within 24 hours. Legal proceedings are ongoing.

The MD said there were no reports of oil leaks or hazardous materials seeping into the ocean. However, “the shipowner deployed an oil containment boom around the vessel as a precautionary measure as requested” by the department.

According to Hong Kong’s Shipping and Port Control Ordinance, if stricken vessels are not removed by the owner, the Marine Department will make arrangements and recover costs from the owner.

HKFP has reached out to Islands District Councillor Lau Shun-ting for comment.

Hong Kong’s welfare minister has defended what he called the “professional judgement” of medical and social workers following the death of a girl shortly after her mother’s.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun spoke to reporters on Thursday following a double tragedy involving a 12-year-old girl and her 48-year-old mother, who both fell to their deaths within hours of each other on Wednesday in Taikoo Shing.

“The daughter went to the hospital accompanied by her family” after her mother’s death, Sun said in Cantonese.

“At the hospital, doctors, nurses and social workers met with her, and they had to make a judgement. I understand that they decided [the girl] could go home.”

Sun said it was understandable that there were concerns about whether it was suitable to allow the girl to return home.

The daughter was accompanied by family members when she was assessed at the hospital and returned home, Sun added.

“I believe the doctors, nurses and social workers had made the decision [to let her go home] at that time based on their professional judgement.”

He said he refrained from commenting further as the police were investigating the double tragedy.

The mother, a social worker with the Social Welfare Department, was found dead on the podium of their residential block around 9.24am after she reportedly had an argument with her daughter about “educational issues,” according to local media.

At 7.21pm, roughly 10 hours later, police were notified of the fall of the daughter at the same address. The girl was certified dead at the scene.

Sun urged people to give the family space and respect their privacy at the moment of tragedy, saying that authorities sought to provide immediate support to the father and other family members.

Edward To, director of social welfare, said at the same press conference that government social workers had visited the father following the incident.

Bouquets were seen at the scene at Taikoo Shing following the tragedy, as residents paid tribute to the mother and daughter.

Hong Kong sweltered on Friday, with temperatures exceeding 36 degrees Celsius in the northern New Territories by mid-afternoon.

Acting Assistant Director of the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) Choy Chun-wing told RTHK on Friday that minimum temperatures remained at, or above, 28 degrees Celsius over the past six days – matching a record seen in mid-May 2021. The longest continuous record could be broken by the weekend.

The HKO has suggested some relief from the weeklong heatwave is in store, with rain predicted for the weekend.

“The anticyclone aloft will weaken tomorrow, while upper-air disturbances will bring showers and thunderstorms to Guangdong. An easterly airstream will affect the coast of Guangdong in the next couple of days. High temperature weather will be alleviated,” the weather service said on Friday.

But it added that high temperatures may soon return. “With the easterly airstream being replaced by a southerly airstream early next week, the weather over the coastal areas will be very hot again midweek next week.”

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

At a Thursday press briefing, the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association’s CEO Maura Wong said that it had handled over 7,700 heat-related emergency assistance cases requiring hospitalisation last summer.

“The Association urges the elderly to take precautions against the heat during the height of summer, and carers should also take a more proactive role in looking after the elderly by providing timely care and support,” she said.

At the same event, the HKO’s Choy warned that sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific are predicted to continue rising, with an El Niño event set to develop in the summer and autumn.

See also: How Hong Kong’s elderly face deadly heat inside cramped cage homes

Stronger El Niño events often increase the likelihood of abnormally high temperatures across different regions. Choy warned of a high chance that this summer would be among Hong Kong’s 10 hottest on record.

The Labour Department hoisted the amber Heat Stress at Work Warning on Friday, urging employers to conduct risk assessments for staff who work outdoors or in non-air-conditioned environments.

Hong Kong has stepped up precautions over the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda, as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the epidemic “a public health emergency of international concern.”

The WHO said on Sunday that there had been 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths in the DRC as of Saturday, in addition to a handful of apparent cases in Uganda.

The outbreak was caused by the Bundibugyo virus disease, and there is currently no vaccine.

There are no confirmed cases in Hong Kong, but the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) has enacted a series of precautionary measures, according to a government press release on Sunday.

Although there are no direct flights from the affected areas, “the CHP will strengthen health screening for passengers arriving on flights from Africa at the airport… Suspected cases will be immediately referred to public hospitals for isolation and treatment.”

It will also bolster public awareness and health education efforts, and provide airlines, doctors and hospitals with updated information.

The CHP advises against visiting affected regions.

Highly lethal

Ebola is transmitted to humans through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs, or other bodily fluids of infected animals.

The virus is highly lethal and causes haemorrhagic fever, systemic inflammation, and multi-organ failure. The case fatality rates from past outbreaks range from 25 to 90 per cent, according to the WHO – the average is 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is preparing a large-scale response to the outbreak, the humanitarian charity said in a press release on Sunday.

“The number of cases and deaths we are seeing in such a short timeframe, combined with the spread across several health zones and now across the border, is extremely concerning,” said MSF Emergency Programme Manager Trish Newport. “In Ituri, many people already struggle to access healthcare and live with ongoing insecurity, making rapid action critical to prevent the outbreak from escalating further.”

The NGO is mobilising more teams comprising medical, logistical, and support staff experienced in responding to viral haemorrhagic fever outbreaks, it said.

Hong Kong has issued its first “very hot weather” warning of the year, with the city expected to endure a heatwave through Friday.

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) issued the warning at 7.45am on Tuesday, with the mercury expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius.

The warning is triggered when the mercury is set to reach, or exceed, 33 degrees Celsius. As of around 1:30pm on Tuesday, Cheung Chau was seeing temperatures of 32.1 degrees Celsius.

The city recorded its hottest day of the year on Monday, as temperatures hit 32 degrees Celsius.

The HKO has alerted the public of the risks of heat stroke and sunburn.

The heatwave is expected to continue through to Friday, as an anticyclone aloft brings very hot weather and low pressure to the coast of Guangdong, according to the HKO.

Highs of 33 degrees Celsius are predicted between Tuesday and Friday, while the lows will range between 27 and 29 degrees.

Hong Kong may see showers during this weekend, as temperatures dip slightly to 26-30 degrees Celsius.

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.

In a Tuesday statement, the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health reminded members of the public to hydrate regularly, and to avoid strenuous exercise and prolonged activities such as hiking.

It also suggested that outdoor or manual workers should reschedule work to cooler hours as far as possible.

Nevertheless, as of Tuesday lunchtime, the Labour Department had not yet issued a heat stress warning – a three-tier warning system introduced in 2023 to help protect Hong Kong workers from heatstroke. 

Outbound travel during long weekend

Hongkongers enjoyed a three-day weekend, with Monday marking Buddha’s Birthday.

According to the Immigration Department, Hong Kong residents made over 615,000 outbound journeys on Saturday, with over 557,000 travellers heading northbound to Shenzhen and other destinations in mainland China.

The figure marks a week-on-week increase of 36.7 per cent.

From Friday to Monday, Hong Kong residents made nearly 1.87 million outbound trips – a rise of 30.8 per cent compared to the same period last week.