Tag Archives: China

     â€‹The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (May 3) released the latest grading of water quality for 39 gazetted beaches (see Note 1) and one non-gazetted beach (see Note 2).

     Twenty-two beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), 12 as Fair (Grade 2), four as Poor (Grade 3) and two as Very Poor (Grade 4).

Grade 1 beaches are:

Big Wave Bay Beach*	Middle Bay Beach
Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach*	Pui O Beach*
Chung Hom Kok Beach	Repulse Bay Beach*
Clear Water Bay Second Beach*	Shek O Beach*
Deep Water Bay Beach*	South Bay Beach*
Hap Mun Bay Beach*	St. Stephen’s Beach
Hung Shing Yeh Beach*	Stanley Main Beach*
Kiu Tsui Beach	Tai Po Lung Mei Beach*
Kwun Yam Beach	Tong Fuk Beach
Lo So Shing Beach	Turtle Cove Beach
Lower Cheung Sha Beach	Upper Cheung Sha Beach

Grade 2 beaches are:  

Butterfly Beach*	Golden Beach*
Cafeteria New Beach	Kadoorie Beach*
Cafeteria Old Beach	Silver Mine Bay Beach*
Clear Water Bay First Beach	Silverstrand Beach*
Castle Peak Beach	Ting Kau Beach*
Discovery Bay Tai Pak Beach	Trio Beach

Grade 3 beaches are: 

Approach Beach	Hoi Mei Wan Beach
Casam Beach*	Lido Beach*

Grade 4 beaches are: 

Anglers’ Beach*

Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach*

     Compared with the grading released last week, Shek O Beach has been upgraded from Grade 2 to Grade 1. Cafeteria New Beach, Cafeteria Old Beach, Golden Beach, Kadoorie Beach, Silver Mine Bay Beach, Silverstrand Beach and Trio Beach have been changed from Grade 1 to Grade 2, Approach Beach, Casam Beach, and Hoi Mei Wan Beach from Grade 2 to Grade 3, and Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach from Grade 3 to Grade 4.

     “We observed water quality deterioration at several beaches in Tsuen Wan District, which was largely due to the prolonged unstable weather in the past two weeks. We will continue to closely monitor the beaches,” an EPD spokesman said.

     Under the present grading system, beaches are classified into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), according to the level of E. coli in the water. Grades are calculated on the basis of the geometric mean of the E. coli counts on the five most recent sampling occasions.

     While the ratings represent the general water quality at the beaches, the EPD spokesman reminded members of the public that water quality could be temporarily affected during and after periods of heavy rain. Bathers should avoid swimming at beaches for up to three days after a tropical cyclone or heavy rainfall.
      
     A summary of beach grades is published weekly before the weekend. The latest beach grades based on the most current data may be obtained from the EPD’s website on Beach Water Quality (www.epd.gov.hk/epd/beach) or the beach hotline, 2511 6666. Members of the public can also obtain the latest daily water quality forecast information for all beaches that are open for swimming through the Beach Water Quality Forecast mobile application (available for download from: www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQApp) or the dedicated beach water quality forecast page (www.epd.gov.hk/en/BWQForecast) on the EPD’s beach thematic website.

     Note 1: Lifesaving services are provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department at 22 gazetted beaches, marked with an asterisk (*) above, from April 1. Due to the damage caused to the footpaths leading to Chung Hom Kok Beach by landslides, the beach is temporarily closed until further notice. For details, please refer to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department’s Special Announcement (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/beach/index.html).

     Note 2: This refers to Discovery Bay Tai Pak Beach which is a non-gazetted beach that has no lifesaving service. read more

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Friday, May 3, 2024 is 105.7 (down 0.3 against yesterday’s index). read more

     In response to the Japanese Government’s plan to discharge nuclear-contaminated water at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene issued a Food Safety Order which prohibits all aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds originating from the 10 metropolis/prefectures, namely Tokyo, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Miyagi, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, from being imported into and supplied in Hong Kong.
 
     For other Japanese aquatic products, sea salt and seaweeds that are not prohibited from being imported into Hong Kong, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will conduct comprehensive radiological tests to verify that the radiation levels of these products do not exceed the guideline levels before they are allowed to be supplied in the market.
 
     As the discharge of nuclear-contaminated water is unprecedented and will continue for 30 years or more, the Government will closely monitor and step up the testing arrangements. Should anomalies be detected, the Government does not preclude further tightening the scope of the import ban.
 
     From noon on May 2 to noon today (May 3), the CFS conducted tests on the radiological levels of 300 food samples imported from Japan, which were of the “aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt” category. No sample was found to have exceeded the safety limit. Details can be found on the CFS’s thematic website titled “Control Measures on Foods Imported from Japan” (www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_fc_01_30_Nuclear_Event_and_Food_Safety.html).

     In parallel, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has also tested 50 samples of local catch for radiological levels. All the samples passed the tests. Details can be found on the AFCD’s website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english/fisheries/Radiological_testing/Radiological_Test.html).
 
     The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) has also enhanced the environmental monitoring of the local waters. No anomaly has been detected so far. For details, please refer to the HKO’s website
(www.hko.gov.hk/en/radiation/monitoring/seawater.html).
 
     From August 24 to noon today, the CFS and the AFCD have conducted tests on the radiological levels of 48 061 samples of food imported from Japan (including 31 375 samples of aquatic and related products, seaweeds and sea salt) and 12 534 samples of local catch respectively. All the samples passed the tests. read more

     The Government gazetted today (May 3) the Deposit Protection Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2024, which seeks to enhance the Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS) to strengthen the protection for depositors, maintain banking stability and keep u… read more

     Mainly attributing to the warmer than normal sea surface temperature and stronger than usual southerly flow in the lower atmosphere over the northern part of the South China Sea, April 2024 was much warmer than usual. The monthly me… read more