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Hong Kong environmental issues
OpinionComment
Natalie Chung Sum Yue
Natalie Chung Sum Yue

Opinion | How Hong Kong can best build urban climate resilience

  • The city must learn from its past mistakes and rely on the latest science and technology in reviewing its adaptation and mitigation measures
  • In short, with extreme weather events on its doorstep, there is no room for complacency

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A vehicle lies in a collapsed road during heavy rain in Hong Kong, on September 8. While the city has prided itself on its good infrastructure and transport networks, extreme weather events present growing challenges. Photo: Bloomberg
Natalie Chung Sum Yue
Calling the summer of 2023 in Hong Kong eventful would be an understatement. The city witnessed the hottest August on record, marked by multiple heatwaves. In September, Super Typhoon Saola struck, followed closely by a severe rainstorm – during which the highest hourly rainfall since 1884 was recorded – that caused serious flooding.
Scientists have concluded – with very high confidence in reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – that anthropogenic climate change is responsible for the increasing intensity and frequency of such extreme weather events. While Hong Kong has prided itself on its strong infrastructure and transport networks, these events present growing challenges to the city’s urban climate resilience.
Being a low-lying coastal city with a subtropical monsoon climate, Hong Kong is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. However, the sense of climate emergency has not been effectively translated into policymaking and public education. We must learn from our painful experiences and reassess our adaptation strategy to enhance climate resilience.

This is crucial to minimise the looming risks associated with low-probability, high-consequence events that are becoming higher-probability events thanks to climate change. A climate-resilient society will enable different stakeholders to withstand and recover from such stress.

To construct a more climate-resilient urban environment, Hong Kong must review and improve its approach to addressing extreme weather events. The most significant deficiency in Hong Kong society, as revealed by recent extreme events, lies in its lack of robustness, and a forward-thinking and reflective mindset.

Robustness refers to the capacity of infrastructure and people to withstand the impact of extreme circumstances. During the black rainstorm earlier this month, some MTR stations, malls and streets were flooded for an extended period. This shows the inadequacies of our infrastructure design and drainage systems.

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