Hong Kong logs hottest September day at 35.9 degrees Celsius, topping last week’s record-breaking figure
- Observatory warns extreme heat will continue until early next week due to dry continental airstream
- Health authorities urge public to take precautions against heatstroke and sunburn
Hong Kong’s weather forecaster logged a temperature of 35.9 degrees Celsius (96.6 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, breaking a record set last week for the hottest day in September.
The Observatory also warned that the extreme heat would continue until early next week.
“A dry continental airstream will bring persistently very hot and fine weather to southern China this week to early next week,” it said in a nine-day forecast.
At 1.30pm, the forecaster logged a temperature of 35.9 degrees. The figure broke the previous record for the highest temperature in September reported last Monday, 35.3 degrees, which itself toppled a record of 35.2 degrees noted in 1963.
Some areas recorded temperatures above 36 degrees in the afternoon, including Happy Valley and Sheung Shui where mercury soared to 37.3 degrees and 37 degrees, respectively.
According to the Observatory, very hot weather is expected to last until next Monday, followed by occasional showers starting next Tuesday.
The forecaster issued the “very hot weather” warning, meaning daytime temperatures might reach 33 degrees or above. It also raised the red fire danger warning, indicating that the countryside would be extremely prone to fires.