Hong Kong warned of severe thunderstorms in the next few hours, with rain over the weekend
You're not really a true Hongkonger until you tick off certain boxes, and one of them is that you should always have an umbrella in your bag. Hong Kong's weather can be unpredictable, intensely sunny one moment and then pouring it down the next – like today, for instance.
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has issued a thunderstorm alert and warned that a trough of low pressure is bringing intense thundery showers to the area today. According to updates posted just before 11am on May 9, severe squally thunderstorms and violent gusts are expected to hit within the next couple of hours and affect the territories. Rainfall and northerly winds will be stronger in some areas of Hong Kong, with gusts of approximately 80km per hour recorded on Green Island around 11.05am.
Our city's weather watchdog has also warned the public to 'seek safe shelter immediately if you are staying outdoors'. The current forecast shows that thunderstorms will continue along the coast of southern China today and tomorrow, and the rain is likely to persist through the weekend. At least temperatures will cool off slightly, with the weather looking to improve from Sunday into early next week.
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Heavy showers and thunderstorms expected for Hong Kong's weather this week
It wouldn't be a good idea to leave your umbrellas at home over the next few days, as the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has warned that the city will be hit by heavy showers and squally thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday this week. While an easterly airstream and sunny intervals are expected tomorrow, a trough of low pressure over central China will move south towards Hong Kong on Wednesday, May 28, bringing heavy rainfall and thunderstorms into Thursday. Temperatures over those two days are expected to reach lows of 25 degree Celsius and highs of 29 degree Celsius. According to the forecast, a southwesterly airstream is predicted to bring hot and showery conditions to the coast of southern China afterwards. This means that lighter showers will persist into early next week, but the rain will be interspersed with sunny intervals. Temperatures will pick up from Sunday, June 1, potentially rising to a maximum of 32 degree Celsius next Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Stifling weather combined with wet conditions is arguably the worst part of Hong Kong's summers, so over the next few days, plan to wear light layers that you can take off as needed along with shoes that you don't mind getting a bit damp! Keep an eye on the weather forecast on the HKO website.
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Hong Kong warned of severe thunderstorms in the next few hours, with rain over the weekend
You're not really a true Hongkonger until you tick off certain boxes, and one of them is that you should always have an umbrella in your bag. Hong Kong's weather can be unpredictable, intensely sunny one moment and then pouring it down the next – like today, for instance. The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has issued a thunderstorm alert and warned that a trough of low pressure is bringing intense thundery showers to the area today. According to updates posted just before 11am on May 9, severe squally thunderstorms and violent gusts are expected to hit within the next couple of hours and affect the territories. Rainfall and northerly winds will be stronger in some areas of Hong Kong, with gusts of approximately 80km per hour recorded on Green Island around 11.05am. Our city's weather watchdog has also warned the public to 'seek safe shelter immediately if you are staying outdoors'. The current forecast shows that thunderstorms will continue along the coast of southern China today and tomorrow, and the rain is likely to persist through the weekend. At least temperatures will cool off slightly, with the weather looking to improve from Sunday into early next week.
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20-11-2024
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Is climate change making tropical storms more frequent? Scientists say it's unclear
SINGAPORE, Nov 20 (Reuters) - An unusual cluster of typhoons in the West Pacific and a series of powerful hurricanes in the Atlantic are raising questions about the impact that climate change is having on tropical storms across the globe. As nations thrashed out the details of a new climate financing package at COP29 talks in Azerbaijan, the Philippines was hit by its sixth deadly typhoon in a month while the United States was recovering from two devastating hurricanes. Scientists say it remains unclear how much climate change is reshaping the storm season, or if it is responsible for the rare appearance of four tropical cyclones at the same time in the West Pacific - the first time this has happened in November since 1961. Higher sea surface temperatures speed up evaporation and provide additional "fuel" for tropical cyclones, boosting rainfall and wind speeds, they say. And the latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in 2023, expressed "high confidence" global warming would make storms more intense. The Philippines' latest supertyphoon Man-Yi landed on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of residents. At least eight people died on Monday, adding to a death toll of more than 160 since October. "It is rare to see a cluster of four tropical cyclones in the western north Pacific at the same time," said Feng Xiangbo, a tropical storm researcher at Britain's University of Reading. "(But) blaming climate change ... for this unprecedented event this week is not straightforward," he added. Evidence suggests that while climate change is increasing storm intensity, it has also reduced their frequency, especially during what is typically the late season from October to November, Feng said. This year, atmospheric waves that have recently been active near the equator could be an alternative explanation for the unusual uptick, Feng said, but their relationship with climate change is unclear. The belt of high pressure known as the sub-tropical ridge, part of the global atmospheric circulation system, has been stronger and stretched further north and west than usual, according to Choy Chun Win, Senior Scientific Officer at the Hong Kong Observatory. The ridge could have steered the storms in a westerly direction, diverting them away from cooler waters and wind shears, which would normally weaken them, providing an explanation why four could coexist, he said. "However, more research is required to assess the contribution of climate change to the chance occurrence of the multiple tropical cyclones and the longer tropical cyclone season," he added. Ben Clarke, weather researcher with London's Grantham Institute on Climate Change and Environment, said it "would make sense" that rising ocean temperatures would extend the typhoon season, but the evidence is not conclusive. "There has been a clear recent increase in the number of tropical cyclones affecting the Philippines in its less active season from approximately December to February, but this doesn't tell us much about ... June-November," he said. STRONGER HURRICANES In an analysis published on Wednesday, U.S. weather researchers Climate Central said Atlantic hurricanes have intensified significantly this year as a result of record-breaking ocean warming. Since 2019, warmer temperatures have driven average wind speeds up by 18 miles per hour (29 kph) and pushed three hurricanes into the highest Category 5, the study said. The two deadly Category 5 hurricanes known as Helene and Milton, which hit Florida in September and October respectively, would have been unlikely without climate change, it said. Research is still ongoing on whether tropical cyclones are becoming more frequent, but there is high scientific confidence that warmer sea temperatures are driving up rainfall and causing higher storm surges, said Daniel Gilford, Climate Central's lead hurricane researcher. "While other factors contribute to each storm's strength, the impacts of elevated sea surface temperatures are prominent and significant," he said. "In the Atlantic, more than 80% of storms since 2019 were clearly influenced by warm ocean temperatures caused by carbon pollution."
