Hundreds of workers and tourists have lodged complaints about ”icy” air conditioners in hotels, offices and shopping malls around Hong Kong, a news report said on Monday.
While summer temperatures climb into the high thirties, the temperature in one Kowloon Bay restaurant toilet was just 16C, the Hong Kong Standard reported.
In the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s office in Tsim Sha Tsui, meanwhile, one visitor complained the temperature was only a little higher at 19C, the newspaper said.
Green group Friends of the Earth has received 266 complaints since launching a campaign last month to pressure companies to raise indoor temperatures to a sensible 25,5C.
The campaign followed a survey which found Hong Kong offices and shops have some of the coldest temperatures anywhere in the world because of excessive use of air conditioners.
The Insight Pocket Guide already warns visitors ”bring a light sweater or jacket” because so many Hong Kong shops and restaurants are ”notoriously over air-conditioned,” the Standard said.
A Friends of the Earth spokesperson told the newspaper: ”The excessive use of air conditioners has branded Hong Kong as a place that wastes energy and does not care about the environment.”
A quarter of complaints concerned public transport, particularly buses where temperatures are kept so low that passengers have to wrap up before getting on board, the pressure group said.
Friends of the Earth says Hong Kong could save more than $100-million in energy costs this summer if air conditioners were turned down across the city. – Sapa-DPA