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Children now experiencing ‘best weather of their lifetime’, warns Asia’s top climate scientist

South China Morning Post · last updated August 22, 2026 – 5:16 PM

Children now experiencing ‘best weather of their lifetime’, warns Asia’s top climate scientist

Professor Ben Horton paints grim picture as climate change destabilises weather patterns, predicting things will only get worse if no action is taken now.

Published: 9:00am, 23 Aug 2026

Adapting to climate change will be increasingly challenging as the weather worsens each year, Asia’s top climate scientist said in a wide-ranging interview with the South China Morning Post. Professor Ben Horton from Hong Kong’s City University also warned of “humanitarian disasters” as the world’s climate becomes more unstable and unpredictable. But despite Horton’s grim outlook, he remains hopeful that things can be turned around if action is taken promptly.

Regina joined the Post in 2021. She spent 13 years covering Hong Kong news for local TV stations before working for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and WWF-Hong Kong. She has a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Nick Dearman is the studio manager at the Post. He has previously worked at Bloomberg and CNN, and has spent over a decade in media and TV.

Yuki Tsang coordinates on-air interviews and video segments in studio and on field. She also manages the usage and daily operations of the studio. She is responsible for SCMP’s flagship video series Talking Post. In 2024, she produced an episode on Hong Kong’s notorious “coffin homes” and her work later won gold at the annual w3 Awards in the US. She previously worked for Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK).