Relief from heat and air pollution to come in the next few day, says HK Observatory

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By staff writer, with additional reporting by Ben Pang
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We should see a drop in temperature in the city, as well as a few showers and isolated thunderstorms

By staff writer, with additional reporting by Ben Pang |
Published: 
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Temperatures soared during the weekend, reaching 37 degrees Celsius.

Impending showers could give Hongkongers some relief from the dry heat and bad air in the next few days.

He Yu-heng, a Scientific Officer for the Hong Kong Observatory, told Young Post yesterday that over the next few days a southwesterly airstream will bring rain to the coast of the eastern Guangdong province and the northern part of the South China Sea, leading to a slight drop in temperatures across the city.

With a few showers and isolated thunderstorms predicted to hit the city, temperatures will range between 27-31 degrees Celsius today. This is in sharp contrast to the high of 37 degrees Celsius recorded on Sunday in Sha Tin, Kowloon City, Happy Valley and Sham Shui Po.

“Temperatures were very hot and hazy over the weekend because of the effects of two tropical cyclones nearby. The outer subsiding air from Typhoon Nesat and Tropical Storm Haitang only brought light winds [to the city], and the weather will improve after the tropical cyclones weaken. There will be a drop in temperatures, and we’ll feel the effects of moderate west to southwesterly winds,” he added.

The winds are expected to help improve the air quality as they will help disperse the lingering pollutants. At noon yesterday, all 13 of the Environmental Protection Department’s air pollution monitoring stations and two roadside stations recorded moderate levels of pollution. On Sunday, the monitoring stations and roadside stations recorded very high to serious levels of pollution, out of a five-tier scale of Low, Moderate, High, Very High and Serious.

“The light winds from the outer subsiding air from the tropical cyclones have stopped the dispersion of air pollutants in the city, and the concentration of these pollutants led to higher than normal pollution levels over the weekend,” said He. “However, the air quality should improve now because of the stronger west to southwesterly winds.”

Loong Tsz-wai, the Clean Air Network Community Relations Manager, said that the serious levels of pollution recorded at the Causeway Bay roadside station highlighted the issue of emissions made from vehicles, ferries and Tuen Mun’s power stations. “The problem is typically worse when the wind direction and speed changes, which means the bad weather over the weekend explains why the air pollution index was high,” Loong said.

Edited by Ginny Wong

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