Hong Kong should prepare for stronger storms and a warmer, wetter winter this year as the current El Nino phenomenon is likely to intensify into a super event, a local green group and a leading meteorologist have said.
Typhoons heading for Hong Kong this year were set to grow more powerful, as El Nino raised sea temperatures and provided storms with more moisture and energy, Friends of the Earth (HK) said on Monday.
Local temperatures have been rising, with the annual mean increasing by 0.14 degrees Celsius (0.25 Fahrenheit) per decade since 1885.
Friends of the Earth warned that scorching days and hot nights in the months ahead would significantly increase the risk of heatstroke and other health problems associated with higher temperatures, while intense downpours could overwhelm the city’s drainage systems.
Higher sea levels would also worsen the threat of seawater backflow and flooding in coastal and low-lying areas, and persistent rain would weaken slope stability, raising the risk of landslides, it predicted.
