The wet start to the month came as figures showed July was hit by thunderstorms on 14 days - the most since 1995 - and was also gloomier and cooler than usual, the Observatory said.

Two typhoons hit during the month, Rumbia and Cimaron.

Rumbia caused the hoisting of typhoon signal No3 on July 1 - but did not deter the tens of thousands of protesters who braved the wind and rain to join the annual march. The signal was reduced to No1 the following day.

The weatherman compared the data recorded this July with figures from 1981 to 2010.

Total rainfall was 436.3mm, about 16 per cent above the normal figure of 376.5mm. Four amber rainstorm warnings were issued.

Only 156.9 hours of bright sunshine were logged, about 26 per cent below the normal total duration of 212 hours.

The mean temperature was 28 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees below the normal figure of 28.8.

The hottest day of the month was on July 13, pushing the mercury to 33.5 degrees.

The Observatory attributed the phenomenon to unsettled weather associated with an active ocean airstream and a trough of low pressure over the South China Sea.

On the very first day of the month, tropical cyclone Rumbia moved across the northern part of the South China Sea and intensified into a severe tropical storm.

Affected by rainbands associated with Rumbia, the city saw windy weather with squally showers and thunderstorms.

Then on July 17, Tropical Cyclone Cimaron intensified into a tropical storm over the Luzon Strait. Typhoon signal No1 was hoisted and its remnant rainbands continued to bring showers and squally thunderstorms to the city the next day.

As for the outlook: we can expect fine weather as next week begins, according to the Observatory.