Keeping cool making Hong Kong hotter

Scientists predict that Hong Kong will have almost no winter by the end of the century as the electricity guzzlers help heat up the city.”Local temperatures are rising at a speed of 0.6 degrees Celsius each decade, more than three times the global average,” said Lee Boon-ying, director of the Hong Kong Observatory.”The excessive use of any electricity-powered machines like air conditioners will accelerate global warming, raising temperatures.”Scientists link climate change to the greenhouse effect, in which gases emitted by burning fossil fuels such as coal to produce energy trap heat in the atmosphere.Air conditioners account for up to 60 percent of Hong Kongs electricity usage in the hot, humid, sub-tropical summers, according to government figures.The city is notorious for its over-chilled interiors, from arctic shopping malls to icy bank towers, with many street-side shops leaving their doors open and letting the cool air out, enraging environmentalists.

Read more at The Independent.