中国气候变化信息网 China Climate Change Info-Net

 Shun Chi-ming, director of the Hong Kong Observatory, said Hong Kong had been hit by super typhoons in recent years and should gear up to combat climate change.

The Hong Kong Observatory said in a statement on Friday that it jointly hosted an academic session with two working groups of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Thursday in Hong Kong.

Featuring the salient points of the three special reports published by the IPCC in the past year, the session provided participants with the opportunity to discuss and exchange views on the latest scientific findings in the field of climate change and its relevance to Hong Kong.

The three reports are the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, the Special Report on Climate Change and Land, and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which summarized the impacts of climate change on land, ocean, the cryosphere and ecosystems.

According to the reports, the land surface air temperature has risen nearly twice as much as the global average temperature since the pre-industrial period, leading to more frequent and intense weather extremes.

Furthermore, if global carbon emissions continue to show no signs of abating, the global sea level rise for year 2100 is projected to be 10 cm higher than that in the previous assessment, representing a 14-percent increase.

At the meeting, Shun cited the destructive power of storm surges brought to Hong Kong by super typhoons Hato and Mangkhut in 2017 and 2018 respectively. He stressed that Hong Kong is not immune to the impacts of climate change, and mitigation, adaptation and resilience measures are most important in combating climate change.

Shun added that the Hong Kong Observatory will continue to provide scientific input to support the work of the relevant departments of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government. It will also make ongoing efforts to help raise public awareness of climate change and its impacts through education, so as to enhance the community's preparedness and resilience.