Warm Hong Kong Christmas but chilly New Year’s Eve expected as temperatures set to dip to 11 degrees Celsius
- Mark will be the coldest for this period in past five years in sharp turnaround from warmest recorded winter solstice
Temperatures in Hong Kong are expected to drop to as low as 11 degrees Celsius as the city ushers in the new year, after a relatively warm Christmas.
While the Observatory said it expected a high of 24 degrees over the Christmas holidays, which would exceed the daily maximum temperature for this period in the past 30 years, the mercury will dip sharply as the year draws to a close.
Warmest winter solstice in Hong Kong since records began in 1884
Temperatures of 11 to 15 degrees are expected on New Year’s Eve, potentially making it the coldest in the past five years during this period.
Hong Kong’s daily mean temperatures recorded on New Year’s Eve since 2014 have all been above 15 degrees with the warmest at 18.2 degrees in 2017. The coldest ever mark on this day since records began in 1884, was in 1984 at 8.7 degrees.
On Saturday, the city experienced its warmest winter solstice on record with a mean daily temperature of 22.2 degrees, edging the record of 22 degrees set in 1992 and 1998, weather officials said.
The winter solstice, or dong zhi, marks the longest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. In the Chinese lunar calendar, it usually signifies being in the thick of winter.
