Publications | Extreme Cold Weather, High-Density Living and Senior Health in Hong Kong

Jul 2026

Dynamic health risks of sudden temperature drops in subtropical winter time: A case study in Hong Kong

Yawen Wang, Shuang Liu, Chao Ren, Jean Woo, Ka Chun Chong, Yue Man Chiu, Pak Kan So, Ho Man Chong, Edward Ng
PLOS Clim 5(7): e0000980

Dynamic health risks; Sudden temperature drops; Winter time

Jun 2026

Increased mortality risks of winter temperature flips: A growing concern in aging society of subtropical climate regions

Yawen Wang, Shuang Liu, Chao Ren, Jean Woo, Ka Chun Chong, Edward Ng
PLOS Clim 5(6): e0000859

Temperature flips; Mortality risk; Aging society

May 2026

Impacts of sub-daily rapid temperature drops on winter outdoor thermal comfort under climate change: A case study in Hong Kong

Lingye Yao, Kai Gao, Kevin Lau, Zhixin Liu, Chao Ren, Jimmy Chi Hung Fung, Edward Ng
Urban Climate, Volume 67, 102943

Acute cold exposure; Cold event; Public health; Physiological equivalent temperature (PET); Subtropical region

Apr 2026

Designing for mild winters: evidence-based thermal comfort benchmarks from urban parks in a sub-tropical city

Kevin Lau, Lingye Yao, Edward Ng
International Journal of Biometeorology, Volume 70, article number 116

Outdoor thermal comfort; Thermal comfort thresholds; Public space design; Sub-tropical; Ageing population

Mar 2026

Age differences in pro-environmental behaviours: Is it about me or future generations?

Zhixuan Lin & Helene H. Fung
European Journal of Ageing, Volume 23, article number 22

Pro-environmental behaviours; Age differences; Rick perceptions; Social generativity; Socioemotional selectivity theory; Self-transcendence

Mar 2026

Seasonal and temporal trends in leading causes of hospitalisation among older adults in Hong Kong: a retrospective study across community and institutional care settings

Xing Xing Qian, Pui Hing Chau, Eric T C Lai, Grace Lai-Hung Wong, Jean Woo
BMJ Open 2026; 16:e110884

Health-care; Care strategies; Community health

Mar 2026

Assessing health risks of extremely hot weather and the need for enhanced heat alerts in a City with a subtropical climate

Hiu Fai Law, Yi Hin Chan, Sze Ning Chong, Janice Ying-en Ho, Pui Hing Chau, Hon Yin Yeung, Pak Wai Chan
International Journal of Biometeorology, Volume 70, article number 110

Extreme weather; Extremely hot weather; Heat-health impact; Subtropical urban city; Hong Kong

Mar 2026

Beyond summer cooling: Evaluating winter thermal performance of urban trees in subtropical coastal region

Lingye Yao, Kevin Lau, Xiang Zhang, Zhixin Liu, Genyu Xu, Kai Gao, Mohammad A. Rahman, Edward Ng
Building and Environment, Volume 296, 114471

Outdoor thermal comfort (OTC); Street canyon; ENVI-met; Subtropical winter; PET; UTCI

Dec 2025

Cold weather patterns and health impacts across climate regions in a warming world: A systematic review at the global scale

Shuang Liu, Yawen Wang, Chao Ren
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Volume 118, 108311

Climate change; Warm winter; Cold event; Public health; Winter temperature fluctuation

Dec 2025

Evaluating the impact of urban climate on building energy: discrepancies during the hottest period in a subtropical city

Yukai Zou, Siyuan Ren, Zhuotong Wu, Lingye Yao, Siwei Lou, Haojie Li, Yu Juang, Jiahao Lin
Energy, Volume 341, 139431

Urban climate; Subtropical region; Building cooling demand; Residential building

Nov 2025

Feeling Hot but Accepting it: The Relationship Between Thermal Perception-acceptance Discrepancy and Physical Symptoms Among Older Adults under Hot Temperatures

Rachael hoi Laam Leung, Zhixuan Lin, Helene Hoi-lam Fung and Janice Ying-en Ho
Journal of environmental Psychology, Volume 107, 102783

Extreme hot weather; Physical well-being; Thermal perception; Thermal acceptance; Thermal perception-acceptance discrepancy; Older adults

Nov 2025

Urban Heat Island Adaptation and Mitigation in Practice: lessons from policy implementation in Five Cities

Kevin Lau, Chao Yuan and Edward Ng
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 383: 20240581

Urban heat island; Implementation science; Climate-responsive urban planning; Science-policy interface; Knowledge co-production

May 2025

Cooling energy resilience of high-rise residential buildings under climate change in Hong Kong

K.F. Fong, C.K. Lee, Kevin Ka-Lun Lau, Edward Yan Yung Ng
Journal of Building Engineering, Volume 101, 111888

Climate change; Micro-climate; Cooling energy resilience; Residential building performance simulation; Passive design strategies

Apr 2025

How heat waves and urban microclimates affect building cooling energy demand? Insights from fifteen eastern Chinese cities

Xiaoshan Yang, Lingye Yao, Mincai Li, Jingfu Cao, Qing Zhong, Weidong Peng, Wenkai Wu, Jing Zhou.
Applied Energy, Volume 384, 125424

Heat wave; Urban heat island; Urban dry island; Building energy performancel; Sensible cooling load; Latent cooling load; Field observation

Jan 2025

Extreme Hot Weather Events and Risk of Hospitalization for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Diseases in Older People in Hong Kong in 2012–2018

Eric Tsz-Chun Lai, Irene Yuk-Ying Ho, Hung Chak Ho, Pui-Hing Chau, Terry Cheuk-Fung Yip, Grace Lai-Hung Wong and Jean Woo
The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 80, Issue 4, 4 April 2025, glaf002

Cardiovascular diseases; Extreme hot weather; Frailty; Institutionalized population; Respiratory disease

Jan 2025

Ensuring accurate microclimate research: How to select representative meteorological data of local climate in microclimate studies

Kai Gao, Jie Feng, Lingye Yao, Kevin Lau, Edward Ng
Building and Environment, Volume 267, Part B, 1 January 2025, 112166

Microclimate simulation; Microclimate measurement; Data representativeness assessment; Climate data analysis; Urban climate studies

Oct 2024

Suitable temperature indicator for adverse health impacts in sub-tropical cities: a case study in Hong Kong from 2010-2019

Janice Ying-en Ho, Yitong Guo, Ka Chun Chong, Pak Wai Chan, Chun Kit Ho, Hiu Fai Law, Ren Chao, Edward Yan Yung Ng, Kevin Lau
International journal of biometeorology, Volume 69, page 233-244

Public Health; Global Health; Social Medicine and Epidemiology Climate Science

Sep 2023

Spatial-temporal changes of compound temperature-humidity extremes in humid subtropical high-density cities: An observational study in Hong Kong from 1961 to 2020

He, Y., Wang, Z., Wong, H. M., Chen, G., Ren, C., Luo, M., Li, Y., Lee, T. C., Chan, P. W., Ho, J. Y., Ng, E. (2023)
Urban Climate, 51, 101669.

Temperature; Humidity; Compound event; High-density city; Public health; Multi-hazards