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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
In cramped, sweaty Hong Kong, climate change is making things worse for the poorest
On a sweltering summer afternoon in Hong Kong, Yeung Fong-yan's flat felt like an oven. Her air conditioner ran at full blast, but the tiny, tin-roofed room still baked in the heat, with a thermometer inside reading 36°C (96.8°F). 'Sometimes it's so hot we can't even sleep,' Yeung said, seated on the small bed that doubles as her couch, dining table and sleeping quarters. Her 13-year-old grandson had just returned home from school, exhausted and drenched in sweat after climbing nine floors to reach their apartment. The two live together in a rooftop structure, on an elevator-less building in the crowded district of Sham Shui Po. Like many low-income families in the neighborhood, they've been pushed into makeshift housing by soaring rents and a chronic shortage of public homes in a city that is, on paper at least, one of the world's wealthiest. During summer, the thin walls offer no insulation, the cracked roof leaks under heavy rain, and the heat turns the space into a furnace. With heavy humidity, Hong Kong's subtropical climate makes already hot days feel even more intense. In recent months, Hong Kong has been hit with relentless heat warnings. Yet tens of thousands of residents remain sardined into homes smaller than a parking space, where staying cool is a luxury few can afford as the climate warms. An estimated 220,000 people live in subdivided units, 'cage homes', or illegal rooftop flats across the semi-autonomous Chinese city. Many units are poorly ventilated, windowless, and often infested with cockroaches, rats and bed bugs. 'Some of the conditions are quite inhumane,' said Sze Lai Shan, deputy director of the nonprofit Society for Community Organization (SoCO). 'They live in spaces only 15 square feet. They share the kitchen and toilet with 15, 20, or even over 30 households.' Constructed with basic building materials such as sheet metal, these types of homes become abnormally hot during the day and trap heat well into the night, a stark contrast to the gleaming steel and glass skyscrapers that fill the skyline of China's premier finance hub. Indoor temperatures in such flats reached as high as 41°C (105.8°F), even when it was cooler outside, according to a SoCO survey this year. For many, this year's heat has felt worse than ever. In the same survey, 93% of residents said this summer was less bearable than previous years. Overcrowded cities are becoming disproportionately hotter amid a changing climate. According to a World Bank report, average temperatures in cities across Asia were measured to be up to 5.9°C (10.6°F) warmer than their rural surroundings. When home hurts your health With summer in full swing CNN spoke to multiple residents of subdivided units, many of who asked to only use one name or remain anonymous for privacy reasons. 'It's so hot it feels like you're getting heatstroke,' said Mr. Wu, a middle-aged man living in a subdivided flat without air conditioning in Sham Shui Po. Inside his narrow room, packed with a small bed and scattered trinkets, the heat becomes unbearable by mid-afternoon. Just blocks away, 15-year-old Roy lives with his mother in a small, windowless subdivided unit – also without air conditioning. 'It's really stuffy. I feel like I'm cut off from the fresh air outside. I feel like I'm cut off from the world,' he said. Stigma around his living conditions has made Roy socially withdrawn. 'It's like there's a wall or a divider barring us from meeting new friends. I'm in a gloomy and heavy mood. I've lost my confidence,' he said. Roy's physical health has also suffered. A severe fever led to facial nerve paralysis, which he believes was worsened by the living conditions in his cramped flat. Nearby, 69-year-old retiree Mr. Tse spends his days at the local library to escape the heat. 'It's still hot after I come back,' he said. To cope, he takes three cold showers a day. For Yeung, staying cool means sacrifice. During the summer, she cuts down to just one meal a day so she can afford to keep the air conditioner running for her grandson. Across the city, a woman living in a rooftop slum in Kwun Tong told CNN she 'feels like she's living in a barbecue,' adding that the heat gives her stomach problems. According to SoCO's 2024 summer survey, 83% of residents in subdivided homes reported sleep problems, while 60% experienced emotional instability, more than half had skin conditions, and about a third reported dizziness. A warming climate, a hotter city The extreme heat inside Hong Kong's subdivided flats stems not only from poor housing, but also from an intensifying climate crisis. According to climate monitoring agency Copernicus, 2024 was Earth's hottest year on record. And Hong Kong was no exception. That year, the number of 'very hot days' – when temperatures reached 33°C (91.4°F) or above – climbed to 52, up from just six two decades earlier, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, the city's meteorological agency. Two months ago, the city recorded its hottest June day in history. The Observatory warns that extreme heat events are becoming more frequent, intense and prolonged. And the city's poorest residents are bearing the brunt. In low-income districts like Sham Shui Po, where buildings are tightly packed, the urban heat island effect reduces nighttime cooling, leading to higher overnight temperatures. Mr. Wu told CNN the heat often keeps him awake. 'I feel very helpless,' he said. 'I can't even get a single good night's sleep. I just want a good sleep.' 'They don't want to live like this,' Sze said. 'But they have no choice.' A system that still fails Hong Kong's poorest Despite being a rich, developed city with one of the world's largest public housing systems, Hong Kong continues to face a severe shortage of liveable, accessible homes. For 14 years straight, the financial hub has ranked as the world's most unaffordable housing market, according to the Demographia International Housing Affordability survey. The Hong Kong government told CNN it is determined to tackle substandard housing by increasing public supply. Authorities aim to build 30,000 light public housing units by 2027-28, and say that over 21,000 transitional housing units are in place or on the way. Such promises are familiar to Hong Kong residents. Every administration since the city's 1997 handover to China have vowed to tackle the property crisis, yet the city continues to see a shortage of housing and eye-watering price tags. Hong Kong's government owns all land and and controls its supply, selling parcels to developers at auctions. It's a system that historically has raised significant revenue for the city, allowing it to keep taxes low while still offering enviable public services. But it has also led to one of the hottest property markets in the world, persistent shortages of affordable housing and palpable inequality. When it comes to the subdivided housing crisis, some experts argue the real issue isn't just property prices or a lack of land, but a system that overlooks those most in need. 'This is purely a failure of public housing policy,' said Michael Wong, an economics professor at the University of Hong Kong. Wong says a major problem is that tenants aren't required to move out of public housing long after their incomes increase. Residents who become middle-income cling to their public homes, even when they hope to move out, due to the lack of affordable private flats in the city. This blocks new applicants from getting in and pushes lower-income residents into the private rental market. 'The people who really need it can't get it. They have to find some other type of housing, so they find these subdivided units with very poor quality,' he told CNN. Even in hazardous and often illegal conditions, tenants commonly pay more than HK$3,000 ($382 USD) monthly in rent. Despite growing concern, policy reforms have been slow. A proposed 'Basic Housing' bill, that the government hopes to enact in 2026, would introduce minimum size and ventilation standards for rental units, but some tenants fear the move will render their rents unaffordable. Meanwhile, pressure is mounting from Beijing. In a 2021 speech, Xia Baolong, head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, called on the city to 'bid farewell to subdivided flats and cage homes' by 2049. But for residents like Roy, the proposed reforms bring fear, not relief. Because he is underage and his mother lacks a Hong Kong ID, they don't qualify for public housing. The bill's new size and ventilation standards could make their unit illegal. 'I am scared that I will lose my home,' he said, 'but there isn't anything I can do.' Families wait for help that hasn't come The uncertain housing situation is pushing many of Hong Kong's low-income residents to a breaking point emotionally, physically and financially. 'I'm really angry. Many people will die. They will not be able to make it,' said 69-year-old Mr. Tse. SoCO's Sze says the consequences can be devastating. 'It is sad… many end up passing away in cage homes or subdivided flats. Sometimes we have to help arrange funeral services for them,' she said. For Yeung, now in her 60s, the biggest worry is for the next generation. 'I feel uncomfortable and upset,' she said. 'I want the government to help my grandson.' SoCO has urged the government to act faster. The group is calling for additional electricity and water subsidies – basic lifelines that could help vulnerable households stay cool as the city heats up. For now, families like Yeung's and Roy's are stuck in the scorching heat, with little certainty about when, or if, meaningful change will come. Chris Lau contributed reporting
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong children in cramped flats have poorer mental health: survey
Hong Kong children who feel they lack study and play areas at home have poorer mental health and academic results, a poll has found. Survey results published on Monday also showed that about 40 per cent of children living in subdivided flats said they did not have enough of the spaces at home, a rate that was higher than those in other types of housing. Hong Kong Metropolitan University and the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) jointly conducted the poll. 'We hope to look into what impacts the environment in subdivided flats could have on children's mental health, academic results and cognitive development,' said Terence Shum Chun-tat, acting head of the department of social sciences of the university who led the study. The first phase of the three-year study ran from June 2023 to August 2024 and covered 1,032 children aged 9 to 12. Around half of them lived in subdivided flats, with the rest in public rental homes, transitional housing, private flats and subsidised housing.
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong tenants endure 40 degree heat in substandard housing
Recent reports indicate that temperatures in substandard housing in Hong Kong climbed to as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) over the past week. Additionally, a concern group found that around 40 per cent of tenants living in these substandard homes reported having poor-quality windows or no windows at all. The results came from two studies published by the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) on Sunday, with the group calling on authorities to offer subsidies so tenants could buy cooling products. SoCO also said that the living conditions of low-income families were unlikely to improve until regulations governing the standards for subdivided flats were fully implemented in 2030. 'That means the residents still have years to endure. Can the government offer some subsidies, such as coupons, to residents for purchasing cooling products?' said Sze Lai-shan, the group's deputy director. 'The government can also subsidise their utility fees. We think the subsidy should be at least HK$200 [US$25] per person each month.' The subsidies could cover products such as air conditioners, fans and heat-reduction curtains, among others, she suggested. The government is set to present the relevant bill at the Legislative Council on Wednesday. Should Hong Kong schools continue virtual lessons during weather-related school closures? Under the proposed legislation, such properties must fulfil a set of standards to become accredited 'basic housing units', such as having a minimum size of 86 sq ft and proper windows, and remain on the rental market. The bill is expected to pass by the end of October, meaning landlords can start registering their properties under the policy as early as next March and enjoy a grace period until the end of February 2030 to rectify any outstanding property issues. The two SoCO studies published on Sunday included a survey of temperatures recorded by tenants living in 11 cage homes, subdivided flats and other forms of substandard housing across the city between Monday and Saturday of last week. The highest recorded temperature was 40 degrees, with the reading taken on Saturday by a tenant living in a metal hut in Yuen Long. A subdivided rooftop home in Kwun Tong clocked mercury readings of 39 degrees. The Hong Kong Observatory recorded a maximum temperature of 34.8 degrees at its headquarters that day. The second study involved interviews with 300 people between May and July about their living conditions in subpar housing amid the heat. Campaigners have urged the government to offer subsidies to those living in substandard housing so they can buy appliances to help keep them cool. Photo: Dickson Lee According to the survey, 35.7 per cent of tenants said that opening their windows was not an option because they faced lightwells that lacked air circulation, among other reasons, while another 4 per cent did not have any windows in their homes. More than 77 per cent of tenants said they were reliant on air conditioners or fans to keep themselves cool. About 42 per cent of all interviewees also said they opted for a shower to keep cool, and about 36 per cent opened their windows for better ventilation. The survey also found that 72 per cent of tenants were worried about the strain on their finances caused by the heat amid reduced income and subsidies, while 68 per cent of all interviewees said they believed that low-income families' utility bills would inevitably increase.
HKFP
07-07-2025
- Climate
- HKFP
Subdivided unit residents urge Hong Kong gov't to provide utility subsidies during summer
Subdivided unit residents have urged the Hong Kong government to provide utility subsidies during summer, as low-income families experience extreme heat, partly due to poor ventilation in their homes. Hong Kong recorded a maximum temperature of 36.5 degrees Celsius over the past week, but temperatures in subdivided units could be even higher, local NGO the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) said at a press conference on Sunday. The NGO placed thermometers in 11 inadequate housing units, including caged homes, subdivided units, and rooftop homes located in Sham Shui Po, Yau Tsim Mong, Kwun Tong, and Tsuen Wan for a week, from June 29 to Saturday. The maximum temperatures recorded inside a subdivided unit in Kwun Tong, with no air conditioning, reached 39 degrees Celsius on Saturday and 38 degrees Celsius on Friday. Meanwhile, indoor temperatures in subdivided units in an industrial building reached 38 degrees Celsius on Friday and 37.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday, with no air conditioning. Residents of rooftop homes suffered even higher temperatures, with some experiencing a maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, with no air conditioners on. Most families in subdivided units tend to turn off air conditioning to save on utility bills, SoCO said. According to a survey conducted by SoCO over the past two months, the median monthly electricity bill for one family is HK$350, while the median monthly water fee is HK$100. Around 60 per cent of the 300 residents interviewed by SoCO said they relied on windows for natural ventilation. However, nearly 36 per cent of respondents said they could not open the windows of their subdivided units, while 4 per cent said they lived in a unit without any windows. Nearly 80 per cent of respondents said they hoped the government would roll out energy subsidies for families living in subdivided units. SoCO urged the government to establish a permanent scheme of energy subsidies in the long term, such as providing each qualified resident with a monthly allowance of HK$200. The NGO also suggested that the government first roll out a subsidy voucher to allow those residents to purchase cooling products such as fans. Hotter summer Around 93 per cent of subdivided unit residents reported feeling hotter this summer than in previous years, according to the SoCO's survey. Hong Kong issued its first 'very hot weather warning' this year on April 14, marking the earliest recorded occurrence of such a warning. The warning is issued by the Observatory when the maximum temperature reaches or exceeds 33 degrees Celsius. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that the intensity and frequency of heatwaves has continued to increase since the 1950s due to human-caused climate change. The prevalence of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide – which trap heat in the atmosphere – raises the planet's surface temperature, with hotter, longer heatwaves putting lives at risk. 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.
South China Morning Post
06-07-2025
- Climate
- South China Morning Post
Temperatures in Hong Kong's subpar housing reach as high as 40 degrees: survey
Temperatures in substandard housing in Hong Kong reached as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) over the past week, while about 40 per cent of tenants in such homes reported having poor quality or no windows, a concern group has found. The results came from two studies published by the Society for Community Organisation (SoCO) on Sunday, with the group calling on authorities to offer subsidies so tenants could buy cooling products. SoCO also argued that the living conditions of low-income families were unlikely to improve in the near future until regulations governing the standards for subdivided flats were fully implemented in 2030. 'That means the residents still have years to endure. Can the government offer some subsidies, such as coupons, to residents for purchasing cooling products?' said Sze Lai-shan, the group's deputy director. 'The government can also subsidise their utility fees. We think the subsidy should be at least HK$200 [US$25] per person each month.' The subsidies could cover products such as air conditioners, fans and heat-reduction curtains, among others, she suggested. The government is set to present the relevant bill at the Legislative Council on Wednesday.
