April heat breaks 140-year record

Hong Kong experienced its warmest April on record as temperatures averaged 26.4 degrees Celsius last month, according to the Hong Kong Observatory, breaking the record set in 1884.

The hot weather was attributed to a southerly airstream that resulted in sunny intervals during the day in the first four days of the month.

On April 4, during the Ching Ming Festival, the daily mean temperature reached 27.2 degrees, making it the hottest Ching Ming on record.

From April 11 to 17, the city experienced sunny and hot weather due to the influence of an anticyclone aloft and subsequent southerly airstream.

On April 13, the temperature reached its highest point of the month at 31.9 degrees, thanks to plenty of sunshine.

Toward the end of April, temperatures dropped to a minimum of 21.5 degrees due to showers and thunderstorms. However, the observatory said: "It was still the highest monthly absolute minimum temperature on record for April."

Looking ahead, the observatory predicts that the influence of a southerly airstream will result in less rain and sunny intervals over the coming weekend.

However, people should prepare for hot weather as temperatures are expected to climb to 26 to 31 degrees on Monday and Tuesday, followed by cloudy weather with one or two showers and lower temperatures of 25 to 29 degrees.

"Another surge in the easterly airstream is expected to affect the coast of southern China in the middle and latter parts of next week, which can bring showers to the region," the weatherman said.

That came as the Labour Department revised its "Guidance Notes on Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work" and introduced the optimized Heat Stress at Work Warning system.

The revision, coming after feedback from stakeholders, allows employers and staff to implement preventive measures.

The department has also worked with the observatory to adjust the cancellation mechanism for the heat stress at work warning, reducing the possibility of the warning being activated and deactivated frequently.

Under the new system, an amber warning will be issued if an "extremely hot" special alert is raised, indicating high levels of heat stress in certain working environments.