Nearly 80 per cent of low-income elderly people surveyed in Hong Kong reported physical or mental distress during periods of extreme heat, prompting calls for stronger government support and heat-prevention measures. Data from the Department of Health cited by Greenpeace identified elderly people as the city’s demographic most at risk from extreme temperatures. The number…
Hong Kong labour authorities have pledged to review the city’s heat stress warning system, a day after the weather forecaster issued the lowest-level alert for outdoor workers despite record-breaking temperatures, prompting questions about the index’s effectiveness. The pledge on Monday followed calls from experts for the government to adopt an international measurement that gives greater…
Authorities are considering a pilot booking system for one of Hong Kong’s most popular hiking routes and creating a new marine park at Sharp Island in Sai Kung, following bigger-than-expected crowds during mainland Chinese holidays. The proposals were outlined in a paper submitted to a Legislative Council ecology and tourism subcommittee ahead of a meeting…
In February, a landmark study in the journal Science delivered rare good news for conservation: a five-year fishing ban in the Yangtze River had halted seven decades of biodiversity near-collapse. Fish biomass has surged, and the critically endangered finless porpoise has begun to rebound. Researchers showed that sustained, collective action can revive an ecosystem. The…
Hong Kong should adopt a top-down, comprehensive ecotourism policy to safeguard the city’s natural attractions, with a designated authority taking the lead, experts have urged, after a surge in Labour Day “Golden Week” visitors overwhelmed ecologically sensitive spots. The call on Monday came after a viral video showed a Mandarin-speaking tourist smoking a cigarette in…
Hong Kong authorities will cordon off parts of the shoreline of Sharp Island in Sai Kung to protect corals, with 1,000 visitors expected in the area each day during the coming Labour Day “golden week” holiday. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department also said on Monday that 11 officers would patrol the island daily during…
Hong Kong could introduce pilot schemes for booking campsites in the city before the National Day holiday in October, as authorities revealed that 32 people were prosecuted for offences in Sai Kung’s country parks over the Chinese New Year holiday period. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan told the Legislative Council on Wednesday that…
A protected Hong Kong wetland on southern Lantau Island has recorded a high concentration of petroleum following an oil spill in September, with levels up to 40 times higher than those in unaffected areas, according to an environmental group’s study. Greenpeace in Hong Kong said the high concentration could threaten local ecology. It urged authorities…
Campers and hikers have urged Hong Kong authorities to step up public education, law enforcement and impose foot traffic limits at campsites after some areas were flooded with visitors during the Lunar New Year holiday. A visit by the South China Morning Post on Saturday to Ham Tin Wan, a beach in Sai Kung, found…
A green group has called for long-term measures to tackle overtourism in Hong Kong’s scenic Sai Kung district after the number of tents at a campsite reached more than nine times its capacity on the second day of Lunar New Year, although authorities described the situation as “under control”. Greenpeace said on Thursday that it…