Hong Kong expands heat stress monitoring to better protect outdoor workers

Hong Kong’s labour authorities have expanded heat stress monitoring to include data from 10 sites, enabling faster alerts to better safeguard outdoor workers.Deputy Commissioner for Labour Vincent Fung Hao-yin said on Monday that the department would incorporate data from the Observatory’s newly added monitoring stations at eight sites across the city.The move is intended to provide a more accurate picture of heat stress levels for issuing warnings when outdoor workers should take breaks of at least 15 minutes.The weather forecaster measures heat levels using the Hong Kong Heat Index, which previously relied on data combining temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation readings from detectors at King’s Park Meteorological Station and along the Beas River in Sheung Shui.It has added detectors at its headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui, as well as in Chek Lap Kok, Happy Valley, Kowloon Bay, Sha Tin, Wetland Park in Tin Shui Wai, Wong Chuk Hang and Kau Sai Chau, an island off Sai Kung.With the enhancement taking effect next Monday, Fung said the Labour Department would use data from the new locations when assessing whether to issue a heat warning.