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.

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

“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.”

Two concerts by Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK have been cancelled in Hong Kong due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

The cancellation comes as Japanese artists find their events axed across China amid diplomatic tensions, yet coincides with the local government’s push to sell Hong Kong as an events capital.

According to a post on the Instagram account of organisers Live Nation, the “decision was made because of reasons that were outside the control of the artist and the organizer.”

“Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, these issues could not be resolved, and the shows can no longer go ahead.”

Live Nation Hong Kong apologised and shared details of ticket refunds.

The shows were set to take place on May 2 and May 3 at Central Harbourfront Event Space.

String of China cancellations

The rock band’s Shanghai gig, originally scheduled for May 9, was also cancelled a month ago.

In November, around a dozen concerts involving Japanese musicians in major Chinese cities were axed within the space of a week, according to Reuters. Artists, including Ayumi Hamasaki, Maki Otsuki, and Hiromi Uehara, were impacted, with some events being halted abruptly during sound checks.

Ties between Tokyo and Beijing became frayed after new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in November that Japan could respond militarily if China attacked Taiwan.

The Republic of China (ROC) government has ruled Taiwan since 1945 after Japan was defeated in World War II, ending 50 years of occupation. The ROC authorities fully retreated to the island in 1949 after being defeated by the Chinese Communist Party in the Civil War. Beijing has since claimed democratic Taiwan as one of its provinces, threatening to unify it by force if necessary.

See also: Explainer – Is Taiwan a country? The self-ruled island’s disputed status

This year, around 40 per cent of flights between China and Japan were cancelled by Chinese carriers. Beijing has also restricted trade with Japan and boosted military operations as a result of the spat.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board’s website describes the city as “the ‘Events Capital of Asia’ and the ‘World’s Meeting Place’… home to some of the world’s greatest mega events and festivities throughout the year.”

HKFP has reached out to the band and Live Nation Hong Kong.

A Hong Kong businessman who has taken on corruption in the construction sector has been jailed for one month for contempt of court over remarks he made on a YouTube livestream two years ago.

High Court Judge Queeny Au-yeung on Thursday sentenced Poon to one month in prison and ordered him to pay HK$262,000 in legal costs after he pleaded guilty to two counts of contempt, local media reported.

Poon was charged in November 2024 after saying in a YouTube livestream, following his loss in a labour dispute case, that a Labour Tribunal judge was “bottom-tier” and “garbage.”

He also directed YouTube viewers to two Facebook posts in which he had disclosed parts of the court transcripts, according to case details.

In mitigation, Poon said he had no intention of interfering with judicial proceedings and that his actions were fuelled by frustration. He also said he was willing to issue formal apologies on the two social media platforms and pleaded for a suspended sentence.

Judge Au-yeung handed down an immediate custodial sentence of one month behind bars.

Poon shot to fame in 2018 after he became a whistleblower in an MTR project corner-cutting scandal.

As the head of a subcontractor for the rail operator, he revealed that top railway officials were aware of substandard work in the Hung Hom station expansion.

More recently, he has focused on flagging issues in residential renovation projects, including the quality of scaffolding nets and the bid-rigging epidemic.

Last month, he was arrested and released on bail over alleged government loan fraud.