Latest news with #EnvironmentalProtectionDepartment
South China Morning Post
14-04-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Why is Hong Kong suddenly blanketed in haze and how much longer will it last?
A dusty airstream linked to the northeast monsoon left eyes watering and throats sore in Hong Kong on Sunday. Advertisement According to the Observatory, the city experienced its driest April morning since an automatic weather station was set up in 1984, with relative humidity falling to as low as 21 per cent. The Post examines the sudden arrival of severe air pollution and what precautions residents should take to minimise their exposure. Conditions at Shing Mun River in Sha Tin. Photo: Sam Tsang 1. What triggered the haze? Former Observatory assistant director Leung Wing-mo explained that both the low relative humidity and poor air quality were influenced by the weakened northeast monsoon. 'The low relative humidity is likely due to continental airflow and sinking air, similar to the hot and dry conditions before a typhoon, while the poor air quality is due to high levels of both sandstorm-related particulate matter and an unusually high ozone level,' Leung said. He said the surging ozone level was likely caused by stratospheric ozone intrusion. Advertisement 'This occurs when ozone from the layer of the atmosphere about 10km [6.2 miles] to 30km high descends to the ground due to sinking air,' he said. 'Ozone combined with some particulate matter like PM10 and PM2.5 makes the air quality even worse.' The Environmental Protection Department noted the airborne dust primarily consisted of PM10, or larger respirable suspended particulates. The level of PM2.5, the fine suspended particulates that pose a more direct threat to human health, was lower.
South China Morning Post
13-04-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Health warning as hazy Hong Kong chokes under ‘serious' air pollution
Hongkongers woke up to a dry and hazy Sunday with multiple districts experiencing 'serious' levels of air pollution under the influence of a dusty airstream from the north, with conditions expected to further worsen. Advertisement The Observatory said Hong Kong had experienced its driest April morning since 1984. Air pollution in urban areas such as Central, Eastern and Kwun Tong districts hit 'very high' health risk levels as of 10am, according to the Environmental Protection Department's air quality health index. The department warned that health risks were 'very high' in Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, Tai Po and North districts in the New Territories. From Tai Mei Tuk in Tai Po, for example, the opposite shore at Ma Liu Shui and Ma On Shan, about 5km away, could not be seen because of the pollution. The index has five health risk categories, 'low', 'moderate', 'high', 'very high' and 'serious', the highest level. Advertisement Other districts also experienced high levels of air pollution.
Rudaw Net
30-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Around 18,000 tourists visited Mahabad during Newroz: Official
Also in Iran Trump threatens Iran with bombing if nuclear talks fail Iranian court confirms death sentence for Kurd accused of PKK ties Iran ready for 'both threats and diplomacy' from US, says FM Iran replied to Trump via Oman, not UAE over Israel ties: official A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Around 18,000 tourists visited the historical and natural sites of Mahabad in western Iran's Kurdish-majority region (Rojhelat) during the Newroz holiday, marking an increase compared to previous years, an official said on Sunday. "During the Newroz holidays, 16,000 tourists visited the Saholan Cave and 2,000 tourists visited the Kani Barazan Wetland," the head of the Environmental Protection Department of Mahabad in Urmia Province, Farooq Suleimani, told the state-owned IRNA news agency. Saholan Cave in Mahabad is one of the city's most famous landmarks, located about 175 meters above sea level and containing ponds as deep as 60 meters. Saholan Cave, located in Saholan village about 42 kilometers southeast of Mahabad along Borhan Road near Isa Kand village, is listed as one of Iran's national natural monuments. 'The number of tourists visiting Mahabad has increased significantly compared to last year,' Suleimani added. He also noted that another popular destination for tourists is the Mahabad Dam. The Mahabad Dam supplies water for agriculture, industry, and drinking, and also generates hydroelectric power. Its reservoir is considered the closest natural lake to an urban center in Iran, and possibly in the Middle East. Mahabad holds immense historical significance for the Kurdish people as a symbol of Kurdish nationalism. It gained prominence as the site where the first independent, yet short-lived, Kurdish state was established by Qazi Muhammad in 1946. The year 2025 corresponds to 2725 in the Kurdish calendar, with Newroz celebrations taking place from March 21 to 23. The same holiday is observed by Persians and in Persian-speaking regions, including Iran and Afghanistan, where it is referred to as Nowruz and celebrated as the New Year in the Persian calendar. The current year in the Persian calendar is 1404, beginning on March 20, 2025. During the Newroz and Nowruz holidays, many tourists from across Iran visit the Kurdish areas in the western part of the country, particularly the border cities in Rojhelat.
South China Morning Post
30-03-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Food waste is bad for the planet and our wallets, so why are we still wasteful?
Every week, Talking Points gives you a worksheet to practise your reading comprehension with exercises about the story we've written. Just before Amina Seyd left home, she noticed half of a loaf of bread on the counter. She took a slice to eat, but knew the rest would likely be in the bin by the time she returned from school. This is a common problem: why do we waste food when we know it is wrong? The issue with food waste Kevin Tam is a social science professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Tam explained there could be many reasons people throw away food that could still be eaten. In some cultures, people are expected to serve guests more food than they need. Parents might want their children to eat well, so they buy and cook more than enough food. But when they cannot finish the food, it gets thrown out. This is what happens in Amina's home. 'Bread tends to expire easily, and since there are four siblings in our household, we sometimes buy more than we can eat. We usually only eat bread for breakfast, so it often goes unused,' the 16-year-old Hongkonger said. In 2022, 11,130 tonnes of municipal solid waste was sent to Hong Kong's landfills every day. Of this, 30 per cent was food waste. Food waste takes up the limited space in landfills. Also, a 2024 UN report found that food waste creates eight to 10 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions every year. The Environmental Protection Department has programmes to reduce waste, such as food recycling bins. But green groups say more needs to be done to change how people think. Social enterprise uses insects to compost food waste in Hong Kong How we get rid of the guilt Tam pointed out that some people do feel bad about throwing food away. 'They might either change their behaviour by reducing food waste or change how they think about it,' he said. They might try to convince themselves that it is OK to throw away the food because it would have gone bad. They might also try to make themselves feel less guilty by doing another good deed. Amina said some of her classmates felt that their individual actions would not make a difference. 'They often underestimate the impact of leaving behind even a small amount of food and think that it isn't a big deal,' she said. According to Tam, this could be because people in wealthy cities like Hong Kong do not experience the consequences of food waste. 'This also highlights why simply telling people to waste less or offering rewards isn't enough. We need to go beyond simply telling them it's bad, and show how their actions are directly connected to their lives,' Tam said. Smart food waste recycling bins have been installed across Hong Kong. Photo: Sun Yeung What we can do to fix this problem Government campaigns can show how wasting food creates greenhouse gases, which are leading to increasingly hot summers in Hong Kong. The government can also push stores to sell food in smaller amounts and tell school canteens to serve less food. 'When only large packages are available, or if smaller packages are too expensive, people tend to buy more food than they actually need,' Tam noted. Schools could also help students track how much money they could save in a year if they wasted less food. Workshops can teach them how to use leftovers in new dishes and how to store food so it stays fresh. 'Achieving lasting change in teenagers' food waste habits and tackling Hong Kong's food waste problem requires a comprehensive approach: motivating them, providing the right environment, and empowering them with the ability to act,' he said. To test your understanding of this story, download our printable worksheet or answer the questions in the quiz below.
South China Morning Post
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- South China Morning Post
CLP Power Hong Kong to charge drivers to use electric charging stations
CLP Power Hong Kong has announced that drivers will have to pay to use its electric vehicle (EV) charging stations later this year, ending 16 years of free service. Advertisement One of the city's two electricity suppliers said the move was to align with the 'market development' and details of the fee charging arrangements would be announced through notices at relevant car parks in due course. 'With the EV charging service market maturing, most of the charging stations have implemented charge service fees,' its statement said. CLP Power Hong Kong said the move to charge drivers to use electric charging stations aligns with market development. Photo: Jelly Tse The company said it would support the government and the industry to expand the EV charging network in Hong Kong and enhance the scale and coverage of charging. Hong Kong is home to around 112,000 EVs – representing about 12.4 per cent of total vehicles – as of the end of January, according to the Environmental Protection Department. There are some 10,400 EV chargers for public use around the city, the department reported. Advertisement Hong Kong authorities announced in 2023 that drivers will have to pay to use EV charging stations at government car parks by the end of 2025.
