Deluge brings record heatwave to an end

The stifling month-long heatwave ended yesterday with a thunderstorm and downpour that finally brought temperatures below 30 degrees Celsius.

The very hot weather warning was cancelled at noon yesterday after being in force for a record 12 days, or 286 hours, since July 24.

There were downpours in a number of areas yesterday and the Observatory issued a thunderstorm warning. And after temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius over the past two weeks, the thermometer dropped to around 27 degrees after the rain at noon.

The relief is likely to continue this week with cloudy weather and scattered showers predicted, bringing lower temperatures.

'The heatwave is over,' an Observatory spokesman said, adding that the temperature was forecast to hover between 27 and 31 degrees.

The Observatory said a tropical storm had formed south of Hainan in the South China Sea that was expected to move northwest.