The Labour Department (LD) announced that the Heat Stress at Work Warning (HSWW) system will be further enhanced to better safeguard the occupational health of employees working in hot weather or in high-temperature environments.
With effect from tomorrow, two new conditions will be introduced to trigger different levels of the system.
First, when the Hong Kong Observatory’s “Extremely Hot Weather” Special Alert is in effect, the monitoring threshold for triggering a higher level of warning will be lowered, enabling earlier activation of a higher warning level.
Second, when temperatures across Hong Kong reach 35 degrees Celsius or above, apart from lowering the monitoring threshold for triggering a warning, the system will lower the threshold and automatically raise the warning level by one step – for example, from Amber to Red, or Red to Black – alerting the public to the health risks of working in abnormally high temperatures.
The LD said that the system enhancements will not create additional work for employers or employees. They should continue to pay attention to the HSWW level issued by the department and make corresponding work arrangements.
Employers must conduct heat-stress risk assessments for employees working in hot environments and implement the heat stroke-prevention measures, including rescheduling work shifts, setting up shade covers, providing ventilation and cooling equipment, and reminding employees to stay hydrated and rest periodically.
The department will continue to review the system’s operationand make improvements, such as studying whether to include additional data – such as the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature – as one of the indicators.