Commissioner for Labour: ongoing review over heat stress at workplace

Hong Kong's temperatures have reached record highs in recent days, but the Labour Department has only continued to issue the lowest level of amber Heat Stress at Work Warning.

Commissioner for Labour Sam Hui says they are reviewing the current heat mechanism with the Hong Kong Observatory and other departments.

They include studying the weighting of different parameters and adjusting thresholds to trigger various warning levels.

Currently, the mechanism considers factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and thermal radiation under sunlight. It also reflects local climate characteristics, such as increasing sensitivity to humidity with a lower proportion of heat radiation under direct exposure.

But he admits that may not reflect the actual conditions for outdoor workers.

Currently, among the Labour Department's 10 testing sites, four sites must meet the standards before a warning is triggered.

Hui says that they might consider lowering the number of test site thresholds.

However, on suggestions to set up district-based heat warnings, Hui says that would be too difficult to implement.