Battling Hong Kong's Big Chill

Hi everyone and welcome back to my first blog article of 2011!

Last week I got back to Hong Kong after spending the Christmas holidays with my family in The Netherlands. As this is my first winter here in Hong Kong I wasn’t too sure what to expect weatherwise. It turns out that it actually gets pretty chilly here with temperatures going down to around 10-15 degrees. This isn’t necessarily that cold but it is when you don’t have any indoor heating, so I’ve now become best friends with my warm slippers and hot water bottle.

Today the temperature was around 15 degrees and while it was a bit chilly I would hardly describe today's weather as extremly cold. The Hong Kong government disagrees. As soon as the temperature drops below 15 degrees the Hong Kong weather authority will issue an extreme cold weather warning (see below).

Bulletin issued at 20:02 HKT 09/Jan/2011

At 8 p.m. at the Hong Kong Observatory the air temperature was 15 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity 53 per cent.

Please be reminded that:
The Cold Weather Warning is now in force. Cold weather might cause adverse health effects. Members of the public should take care to keep warm.

(source: http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/currwx/current.htm)

To help local residents deal the cold, the government even provides some guidelines on actions to be taken for cold weather:

1. Members of the public are advised to put on warm clothes and to avoid adverse health effects due to the cold weather. 
2. Make sure there is adequate indoor ventilation.
3. If you must go out, avoid prolonged exposure to wintry winds.
4. If you know of elderly or persons with chronic medical conditions staying alone, call or visit them occasionally to check if they need any assistance.
5. Make sure heaters are safe before use, and place them away from any combustibles. Do not light fires indoors as a means to keep warm.
6. Whatever the temperature, ensure that there is plenty of fresh air in your room when you are using an old-type gas water heater. 

(Source: http://www.hko.gov.hk/wservice/warning/coldhot.htm)

Good thing it doesn't freeze here in Hong Kong...

See you soon!

Annelotte