Improving street walkability: Biometeorological assessment of artificial-partial shade structures in summer sunny conditions.

Recent rapid urbanization has rendered outdoor space a key quality-of-life factor, yet walkability studies especially in hot-humid climates have seldom considered human biometeorology. This site-level study investigated microclimatic functions of an overhead structure in improving walkability, and identified biometeorology-related factors influencing pedestrian behaviour. A walkway with overhead tinted glass cover, demarcated into sunny zone and shaded zone, was equipped with hanging aluminium fins.

Impacts of air conditioning on air quality in tiny homes in Hong Kong.

The risk of developing sick building syndrome is known to be higher in air-conditioned than naturally ventilated spaces. In Hong Kong, air conditioning (AC) is commonly used in homes to relieve summer heat stress. This study aims to assess the air quality impacts of AC in tiny homes called SDUs (sub-divided units).

Spatio-temporal comparison of neustonic microplastic density in Hong Kong waters under the influence of the Pearl River Estuary.

Rivers are recognised as an important source of plastic debris in the open sea. The Pearl River in China is estimated to transport 0.1milliontonnes of plastic waste to the open sea annually.

Characterisation of plastic microbeads in facial scrubs and their estimated emissions in Mainland China.

Plastic microbeads are often added to personal care and cosmetic products (PCCPs) as an abrasive agent in exfoliants. These beads have been reported to contaminate the aquatic environment and are sufficiently small to be readily ingested by aquatic organisms. Plastic microbeads can be directly released into the aquatic environment with domestic sewage if no sewage treatment is provided, and they can also escape from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) because of incomplete removal.

Size distribution of stranded small plastic debris on the coast of Guangdong, South China.

Beach environments are known to be conducive to fragmentation of plastic debris, and highly fragmented plastic particles can interact with smaller organisms. Even through stranded plastic debris may not interact directly with marine organisms, backwash processes may transport this debris back to coastal waters, where it may affect a wide range of marine life at different trophic levels. This study analysed the size distribution of stranded plastic debris (<10 mm) collected from eight coastal beaches in Guangdong Province, China.

Evidence of microbeads from personal care product contaminating the sea.

Plastic microbeads in personal care products have been identified as a source of marine pollution. Yet, their existence in the environment is rarely reported. During two surface manta trawls in the coastal waters of Hong Kong, eleven blue, spherical microbeads were captured.

Seasonal variation in the abundance of marine plastic debris in the estuary of a subtropical macro-scale drainage basin in South China.

Marine plastic debris, including microplastic debris (0.315-5mm) and large plastic debris (>5mm), was collected from 25 beaches in Hong Kong during a wet summer season (June-August 2014) and the following dry winter season (January-March 2015). Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to compare the abundances and weights of seven categories of plastic debris between the two seasons.

To swim or not to swim? A disagreement between microbial indicators on beach water quality assessment in Hong Kong.

The USEPA and the WHO now advocate the use of enterococci as indicators for marine water quality. This study investigated the outcomes for Hong Kong beach water quality assessment by comparing enterococcus measures with data from the HKEPD's monitoring programme. Six beaches were tested once every 2-3 months from November 2013 to June 2014 in order to identify the most contaminated sites, followed by intensive water sampling in sites found to have the highest enterococci densities (Clear Water Bay Second and Golden) every five to six days for six sampling events over a 30-day period in 2014.