This photograph taken on August 10, 2024 reveals retired janitor Chun Loi, 84, sitting on her mattress whereas dealing with electrical followers inside her 50-square-foot windowless one-room flat in Hong Kong. Agence France-Presse
HONG KONG — Even with two electrical followers whirring, retired janitor Chun Loi was sweating profusely in her windowless, one-room flat that swelters throughout Hong Kong’s humid summer season.
Her 50-square-foot room is partitioned with well-worn planks from 4 different small rooms, generally referred to as sub-divided items.
It’s a sweaty however low-cost possibility that has proliferated throughout Hong Kong, one of many world’s most costly housing markets.
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Consultants warn that, with 2024 anticipated to be the most well liked yr in recorded historical past, aged individuals like Chun residing in Hong Kong’s small, poorly ventilated items face larger dangers.
AFP joined a Pink Cross Hong Kong group that works with households that stay in items like Chun’s to enhance their residing situations.
“The warmth makes it very onerous for me… I really feel drained,” the 84-year-old advised AFP on Saturday, when the temperature crept previous 32 levels Celsius (90 levels Fahrenheit).
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“I attempt to keep in as a lot as potential with my followers… In any other case, the place are you able to go? It’s embarrassing to remain in eating places and malls if I’m not consuming something,” Chun mentioned.
Her unit in Hong Kong’s Kowloon area prices about HK$2,000 (US$256) a month.
She has waited greater than six years for a public housing condominium to grow to be out there, however with solely 430,000 focused for development within the subsequent decade, her possibilities of getting one stay out of attain for now.
Eva Yeung of Pink Cross Hong Kong, who has been working with about 650 households in subdivided items, warned that the aged residing in such items are particularly susceptible.
“Local weather change impacts everybody,” Yeung mentioned. “However the influence is just not equal as a result of some individuals, attributable to their residing situations and bodily situations, are affected greater than others.”
Poor residing situations
The variety of subdivided items grew quickly over the previous 20 years as the worth of Hong Kong’s personal residential market tripled and public housing development didn’t sustain with demand.
The town is persistently ranked as one of the costly housing markets on the planet, making low-cost options for individuals like Chun more durable to seek out and blowing out ready lists for public housing.
Hong Kong’s 2021 census discovered that, out of a inhabitants of seven.5 million, 215,700 individuals stay in such “shoe-box” areas — nearly one in 50 individuals.
The aged are the fastest-growing group amongst them, with a rise of greater than 4,300 individuals from 2016. That displays a United Nations forecast that Hong Kong will grow to be town with the world’s oldest inhabitants by 2050.
Yeung tries to enhance the residing situations of the households she works with by displaying them how one can enhance air circulation or handle the temperature.
This photograph taken on August 10, 2024 reveals a normal view of the condominium block the place retired janitor Chun Loi, 84, lives in her 50-square-foot windowless one-room flat in Hong Kong. Agence France-Presse
She mentioned indexes that measure components akin to temperature, humidity and air high quality have been all beneath worldwide requirements.
“It means their well being has been significantly affected… aside from bodily impacts, such residing environments would additionally have an effect on feelings,” she mentioned.
A 2020 research by the Chinese language College of Hong Kong discovered that 5 consecutive “scorching nights” — outlined as when temperatures rise above 28C (82F) — would elevate the chance of loss of life by 6.66 p.c.
A authorities activity power that tackles this housing challenge is predicted to this month announce minimal residing requirements and measures to eradicate substandard items.
‘Local weather catastrophe’ –
Lam Chiu-ying, the previous chief of Hong Kong’s climate observatory and a Pink Cross council member, rooted round Chun’s unit in search of any spare room.
He lastly noticed an empty cabinet above the doorway that would maintain one other fan.
Lam, an ardent environmentalist who famously mentioned he would by no means use an air conditioner, had been visiting households to supply recommendation.
“Local weather change is step by step morphing into local weather catastrophe,” he advised AFP.
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“However we will’t merely quit… what I’m doing is making an attempt my finest earlier than the loss of life of the human race, hoping that individuals would get up and perhaps then, abruptly, we can have hope.”
