Balmy start to Year of the Pig forecast for Hong Kong but flu still a threat, doctors warn
- Temperatures set to reach 24 degrees Celsius but fog could shroud annual Lunar New Year fireworks display
The Year of the Pig is expected to start with warm and humid weather in Hong Kong but doctors are still urging the public to guard against flu after the rampant spread of the virus this winter.
Sunday will go into the record books as the second warmest penultimate day of the lunar year in 96 years.
With sunshine and light winds, the temperature hit 25.4 degrees Celsius at the Hong Kong Observatory’s headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui in the afternoon, surpassing the 24.7 degrees in 1956, but a degree lower than the 26.3 record set in 1923.
The weather is set to remain mild throughout Lunar New Year, with sunny intervals during the first day on Tuesday and one or two light rain patches in the morning. Temperatures will range from 18 to 22 degrees.
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The warm spell will persist into the latter part of the week, with humidity slowly building to 95 per cent by Wednesday or Thursday, and the mercury rising to 23 or 24 degrees.