Shortest day ... and one of the coldest
The shortest day of the year is forecast to be one of the coldest, with temperatures plunging below 10 degrees Celsius as families celebrate the winter solstice today.
The Observatory issued a cold-weather warning and a strong monsoon signal shortly before 5pm yesterday.
Senior scientific officer Leung Wing-mo of the Observatory said Hong Kong was under the influence of an intense winter monsoon that had brought cold and very dry weather to southern China.
The weather will mainly be fine, with a minimum of about 10 degrees in urban areas and 2 to 3 degrees lower in the New Territories.
Warmer weather is in store later in the week, thankfully, with a maximum of 20 degrees tipped for Sunday, Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, the price of live chicken has gone up by 20 per cent because of the increasing demand for the traditional winter-solstice dinner. It is a Chinese tradition to have family dinner at home and chicken is a favoured delicacy.
A woman who runs a chicken stall in a wet market in Quarry Bay said the price of live chicken went up from $25 per catty to $30 (about $45 per kilogram).
'The price went up last week because of the increase in demand.'
