Storm signal on, storm signal off, storm signal back on. That's Hong Kong's Thursday morning so far. The Observatory pulled the Amber Rainstorm Warning after midnight, then stuck it back up a few hours later as the rain kept dumping. By breakfast time RTHK had the Red Rainstorm Warning up too. If you're trying to plan your commute off the app alerts alone, good luck, you'll be checking your phone every twenty minutes like the rest of us.

Here's the thing about "amber" and "red." They sound like a traffic light, calm, orderly, you know what's coming. What it actually means this week is the Observatory itself can't make up its mind fast enough for the sky to keep still. Cancel it, and forty minutes later you need it again. Nobody's fault, this is just what late-August storms do to a city built on a hillside with a harbour in the middle. But if you had outdoor plans this morning, you already know: check the signal before you leave the flat, not after you're standing in it.