Freeze frame! Images of Hong Kong’s chilling return to work on Monday, inside the polar vortex

Beanies, puffer jackets, gloves and sensible shoes are the order of the day – while some hardy types don their swimming trunks and dive right in to record-breaking cold weather in tropical, humid Hong Kong

Hong Kong weather

Laurence Chu

Published: 12:30pm, 25 Jan 2016

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People donning thick clothes as they queue for buses on the way to work; kindergarten and primary school children were suspended on the coldest Monday in the city.

Hong Kong’s cold snap brought the coldest temperatures on record in nearly six decades, with the Hong Kong Observatory confirming temperatures for many parts of the city were around three to four degrees on Monday morning, with those on the ground several degrees lower.

Monday’s weather was expected to be fine and very dry, with humidity dropping to between 40 and 70 per cent. The chilly weather is expected to continue until Wednesday, as the cold surge brought on by the polar vortex continues to affect Hong Kong.

Kindergarten children attend school in the Mid-Levels this morning despite a suspension of class. Photo: Bruce Yan

Swimmers dive into the sea at the Hung Hom on the coldest Monday. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

A swimmer jumping into freezing water in early morning at Hung Hom. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

People wrapped up in thick clothes queue for buses at the Cross Harbour Tunnel. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

A woman wears thick clothes queuing for a bus at Cross Harbour Tunnel. Photo: K.Y. Cheng

Yeung Siu-long, owner of Chiba Garden in Kam Tin, said the orchids sold at the flower markets don’t stand a chance. Photo: Felix Wong

A person holds a frozen leaf at Tai Mo Shan. Photo: Felix Wong

A car is coated with the frost at Tai Mo Shan. Photo: Felix Wong

Frost coats the plants on Tai Mo Shan mountain. Photo: Felix Wong

Additional Reporting by Laurence Chu, Allen Au-yeung and Lai Ying-kit

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