Mercury climbs to 33.5 degrees Celsius, setting record for hottest Chung Yeung Festival in Hong Kong
- Hottest Chung Yeung Festival since records began in 1884, according to Observatory
- ‘I have never experienced such heat on an October day,’ says one hiker
Families sweeping graves in the hills of Hong Kong on Tuesday endured the hottest Chung Yeung Festival on record, as the mercury climbed to 33.5 degrees Celsius (92.3 Fahrenheit) at the height of the day.
The temperature hit 33 degrees at 2pm, breaking the record of 32.5 degrees set in 1959, and climbed to 33.5 degrees later in the day. Other parts of the city saw even higher temperatures, with the mercury hitting 35.9 degrees in Sheung Shui.
“It was the hottest Chung Yeung Festival since records began in 1884,” the Observatory said. “A high-altitude anticyclone is bringing generally fine weather to southern China.”
Due to a rise in air pressure in eastern China, a northeast monsoon was expected to reach the coast of Guangdong on Wednesday morning, bringing showers, the forecaster said.
Hong Kong has recently been met with exceptionally hot weather. Temperatures last month broke the record several times for the hottest day in September.
On September 13, the Observatory logged a temperature of 35.9 degrees, breaking a record of 35.3 degrees set just a week earlier, which itself toppled a record of 35.2 degrees set in 1963.
The festival, observed on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, is a day for families to go hiking and visit the graves of their ancestors to clean them, repaint inscriptions and lay out food offerings and flowers.