2018 continued to be an eventful year in the world in terms of extreme weather with heatwaves, wild fires, extreme rainfall, and destructive tropical cyclones ravaging different parts of the world. The year 2019 also started with extreme temperatures ranging from exceeding 49oC in parts of South Australia to -30oC in the Midwest of the United States in January. The impacts of climate change are clearly seen.
Against the backdrop of global climate change and local urbanization, Hong Kong is not immune to their impacts. In the last century, Hong Kong has experienced significant changes in climate, including long term warming trend, rising sea level, and more frequent extreme weather. The ferocious strike of Super Typhoons Hato and Mangkhut to Hong Kong and the Pearl River Estuary successively in 2017 and 2018 is indeed a timely reminder of the threat of extreme weather. Review of historical storms further hints the possibility of even worse super typhoons hitting this region. Looking into the future, climate projections continue to picture a warming climate with more variable rainfall, more frequent extreme weather, and increases in tropical cyclone risks, including the increasing threat of storm surge due to sea level rise and more intense typhoons. In this talk, the present and future climate change and extreme weather hazards will be reviewed and the associated challenges to the sustainable development of Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be discussed.
Mr Shun joined the Hong Kong Observatory in 1986 after graduating from the University of Hong Kong as Bachelor of Science. After joining the Observatory, he received professional training in nuclear radiation and weather forecasting in the United Kingdom. Mr Shun specialized in aeronautical meteorology since the 1990s and led a team of researchers to develop the world-first and award-winning Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) Windshear Alerting System for the Hong Kong International Airport. Mr Shun was appointed as Director of the Hong Kong Observatory in April 2011. In the international arena, Mr Shun was President of the Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology (CAeM) of the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) from February 2010 to July 2018. Mr Shun is also Permanent Representative of Hong Kong, China with WMO, Chair of the Hong Kong Meteorological Society, Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (FRMetS) and Member of the Chinese Meteorological Society Executive Committee.
The Colloquium is open to all. SEE students are required to register via AIMS in just a few steps: Go to AIMS, select “Student Services”, then select “Central Repository on Student Development Activities System” and search the activity name “SEE Colloquium: Climate Change and Extreme Weather – A Clear and Present Danger” or the activity code “E2- 2019-0157”