The average temperature recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory from January to November this year was 24.1 degrees Celsius, the fifth highest for the same period since records began in 1884. The World Meteorological Organisation announced that 2009 will probably be among the 10 hottest years on record. Among the warmest January-to-November periods recorded in Hong Kong, six were in this century. The average temperature from January to November for the period 2000-2009 was 24 degrees, the highest decadal average on record.