International climate experts have praised Hong Kong’s centralized observation system, clear governance framework, and differentiated early-warning approach when facing extreme weather, following a week-long field study of an initiative to help global cities better anticipate and manage growing weather threats.
They agreed that Hong Kong’s ability to respond to diverse weather hazards can offer valuable examples for other cities with various cultural backgrounds, resources or infrastructures.
As climate change continues to intensify the frequency and severity of extreme weather events worldwide, the five-year Urban-PREDICT initiative was launched under the World Weather Research Program of the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization with its International Coordinational Office established at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in November last year, bringing together scientists from all six inhabited continents to develop next-generation urban-scale hazard prediction and early warning systems.
Hong Kong, Montevideo in Uruguay, and Lusaka in Zambia were selected as Global Demonstration Cities from 14 candidates.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, one day before the three-day Climate Adaptation and Resilience Conference 2026 (CARE2026) at HKUST, Chen Fei, the co-chairman of the initiative and the associate head of HKUST’s Division of Environment and Sustainability, said that Hong Kong, as one of the global demonstration cities, is “not only a valuable testbed for innovation but also an important platform for international knowledge exchange”.
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In June, a team of social scientists wrapped up a one-week field study in Hong Kong, visiting SAR government departments, infrastructure facilities, and community organizations to understand local policies and measures.
Soledad Garcia Ferrari, also co-chairing Urban-PREDICT, said Hong Kong has “a really strong observation system centralized in the Hong Kong Observatory”, describing it as a good governance framework for understanding risks and impacts.
“From that observatory, information is then shared across all the institutions that will take action in relation to the different levels of warning. We felt that it creates a very clear, strong infrastructure for communication.” She also noted that Hong Kong’s early warning system considers different population sectors, such as older people working outside in extreme heat and office workers.
Chen added that the three demonstration cities span vastly different climates, weather challenges, cultural backgrounds, and governance systems, making mutual learning a key, describing the exchange as a two-way street.
Looking ahead, Ferrari said the initiative’s next four years will extend its action-research framework to each demonstrator city, engaging institutions and studying events as they unfold.
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Findings will be shared throughout the project via papers, policy briefs, and interim recommendations designed to be useful to practitioners, rather than only at its conclusion.
Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com
