Hottest winter on record for Hong Kong, with average temperature of 19.1 degrees Celsius
- Last month was the second-warmest February on record, with an average temperature 3.3 degrees higher than normal
- Observatory attributes increase to ‘global warming and local urbanisation’
It’s official: Hong Kong has just been through its warmest winter on record.
The Observatory said the average temperature between December and February was 19.1 degrees Celsius, the highest since records began in 1884, and 0.7 degrees higher than normal.
“Under the influence of global warming and local urbanisation, there has been a very clear trend of Hong Kong’s winter temperatures increasing over a long term,” said Law Hiu-fai, a scientific officer at the Observatory.
“We expect to observe such a trend continuously. There may be more and more record-breaking occurrences of warm weather.”
The past winter also set two other records, for the highest average daily maximum temperature and the highest average daily minimum temperature.
The average daily maximum temperature was 21.4 degrees, 0.4 degrees higher than normal, while the average daily minimum temperature was 17.5 degrees, 1 degree higher than normal.
Last month was the second-warmest February on record, with an average temperature of 20.1 degrees, 3.3 degrees higher than normal.
There were only three “cold days” – where the daily minimum temperature dropped to 12 degrees or below – in the winter, compared with the normal count of four.
We expect to observe such a trend continuously. There may be more and more record-breaking occurrences of warm weather
Law said there were fewer cold waves from the north and a weaker winter monsoon between December and February, and water temperatures at the north of the South China Sea were also “unusually warm”, contributing to the record-breaking winter warmth.
The second-warmest winter came in 2008-09, when the average temperature was 21 degrees. The coldest winter was in 1893, the average temperature dropping to 13.7 degrees.
Looking ahead, the weather was expected to turn cooler on Sunday and early next week, with a cold front expected to form over the northern part of southern China and reach the coastal areas on Sunday.
“The associated northeast monsoon will bring cooler weather to the region early next week,” the Observatory said in its forecast.
A trough of low pressure was expected to linger around the coastal areas of southern China in the middle and latter parts of next week, so the weather will become unsettled over Hong Kong.
Temperatures on Sunday were forecast to range between 19 degrees and 24 degrees. It will drop to between 18 degrees and 22 degrees on Monday before picking up on Wednesday to between 20 degrees and 25 degrees. After that, it is expected to drop again to between 17 degrees and 21 degrees over the following weekend.
It will mainly be cloudy and rainy on Sunday and over the next week.
