Storms signal climate chaos - reflections on a volatile week of wild weather

By Wisley Lau

“Reflecting on this week of chaotic weather, much can be learnt.” (Image by Michael Gaida, courtesy of Pixabay)

October 14, 2021: the day after the typhoon Kompasu passed by Hong Kong and nearly a week after Hong Kong students had to face the harsh rain and wind to go to school when the storm Lionrock flew past the city.

Reflecting on this week of chaotic weather, much can be learnt about how climate change is impacting the severity of typhoons and other areas of life in ways we have not experienced in the past.

October 8, the Friday before mid-term break, started as an extremely windy and rainy day with a Typhoon 3 and Yellow Rain warning signal. Students were required to go to school as the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) did not issue a Red Rain warning signal or a Typhoon 8 warning signal. Many students and parents complained about the HKO and Education Bureau (EDB)’s lack of action to protect student safety against the harsh conditions. 

At 11:45 a.m., the HKO announced a Black Rain warning during the last period of class that day for Renaissance College. Some students managed to leave soon after to get home, but most other students weren’t so lucky. Parents needed to either pick up their children by themselves, or designate a guardian to the school to get their child for them; even amongst the gradually brightening weather conditions as the rain signal was dropped from black to red. 

On the same day, a deadly scaffolding accident at Broadway Road killed one construction worker and Hong Kong netizens took to social media to insult and condemn the HKO’s incompetency and obliviousness to the weather that had impacted people’s lives. Later that day, the HKO made a statement that the difficulty catching up with updating storm warnings was due to climate change and urged Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality in the future. They also shifted the responsibility of deciding whether to stop students and workers from going to school or work as usual on to the EDB and heads of corporations.  

The next morning on October 9, a Typhoon 8 warning signal was issued at dawn and tests like the ACT (American College Testing) were forced to be postponed to a later date, though for the most part the weather and wind at the time was relatively calm. Afterwards, the HKO had to repeatedly push back the time the Typhoon 8 warning signal would downgrade to a Typhoon 3 warning signal due to worsening weather conditions throughout that afternoon. 

Just days after typhoon Lionrock hit, people were on high alert when typhoon Kompasu came into view. This time, management of weather signals was more orderly. The HKO started early warnings about when typhoon signals would be increased.The EDB announced during a Typhoon 3 warning signal to stop all schools and classes for afternoon lessons, bosses were letting employees leave work early to go back home for safety, while supermarkets saw diminished stock in fruit and vegetables as many bought supplies to survive the onslaught of the typhoon for the coming two days. Kompasu came and went in under a day but unfortunately, one person was killed in a traffic accident.

In between these two storms, there is much to discuss, from the HKO’s role in only being a source of meteorological measurements, to whom we should hold accountable for the mis-steps during Tropical Storm Lionrock. Although, the largest issue to be alarmed about here is climate change.

Yes, the HKO did use global warming as an “excuse” for how they possibly mishandled the warning system, but they did have a point. Human activity like burning fossil fuels and polluting the environment is causing the climate change that is making storms more unpredictable and severe. We have all seen the footage of ever-growing waves during typhoons and of strong winds folding umbrellas, but these events are just symptoms of climate change causing more damage, not the inherent fault of tropical storms. Not only that, there are two people who are now dead because of the storms, which goes to show how climate change is not just affecting people’s livelihood, but directly threatening their lives.

All that is just the recent chapter in a long list of natural disasters exacerbated by climate change that impacted the world. From mass floodings in China and Germany, to growing wildfires in California and Australia. According to research published by Nature Climate Change, at least 85% of the global population has experienced weather events made worse by climate change. Even more distressing is that by 2030, the global temperature could rise above 1.5 degrees celsius, which is the tipping point for the climate where the consequences go from bad to worse. We need progressive action now by governments and individuals, working together to tackle climate change with actual policies and reflective action to slow global warming. As well as adapting to a hotter environment than the planet has ever experienced.

Hopefully, through this experience of climate-change-affected severe typhoons, the people of Hong Kong can finally grasp that climate change is not just vague scientific data or a byline news credit when something terrible has happened, but rather something that is actually affecting the lives of millions, including Hong Kongers. With luck, the government will also start enacting genuine change when it comes to reaching the carbon-neutral goal and citizens will do their part in the war against the climate crisis.