Hong Kong swelters as Tropical Cyclone Dolphin sees temperatures exceed 38°C

Temperatures exceeded 38 degrees Celsius in some parts of the city on Saturday, as Tropical Cyclone Dolphin brought a heatwave to Hong Kong.

Temperatures as of 2pm, August 8, 2026. Photo: Observatory.

The Observatory (HKO) said on Saturday that the storm was moving towards the vicinity of Zhejiang and northern Fujian: “[I]ts outer subsiding air will persistently bring extremely hot weather to the territory in the next couple of days. Temperatures in some areas will reach 37 degrees or above. High temperature weather is expected to continue midweek next week.”

The heat will give way to rain by Wednesday, the HKO added: “A southwesterly airstream is expected to affect the coast of Guangdong midweek next week.”

The HKO warned earlier that the city may experience record-breaking high temperatures this year and next year due to climate change and forecasts of a “super-strong” El Niño event.

El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon whereby sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific become abnormally warm.

A resident walks in a park when the city is struck by hot weather on May 23, 2025. File Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Last month marked Hong Kong’s second-rainiest July on record, with a total of 20 amber rainstorm warnings and five red rainstorm warnings issued.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that the intensity and frequency of heatwaves have continued to increase since the 1950s due to human-caused climate change. The prevalence of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide – which trap heat in the atmosphere – raises the planet’s surface temperature, with hotter, longer heatwaves putting lives at risk.

See also: How extreme heat became the deadliest silent killer among world weather disasters

Hong Kong has already warmed by 1.7 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, research NGO Berkeley Earth says. Heat and humidity may reach lethal levels for protracted periods by the end of the century, according to a 2023 study, making it impossible to stay outdoors in some parts of the world.