THE GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING
The mean monthly temperature ranges from 59°F in February to 82°F in July, the average for the year being 72°F. The temperature very rarely rises above 95°F in summer, or falls below 40°F in winter. The mean relative humidity exceeds 80% from March until August, but in early winter it may occasionally fall as low as 20%. The average daily duration of sunshine ranges from 3 hours in March to 7 hours in October.
Hong Kong is liable to be affected by typhoons during the period July to October, though typhoon gales have occasionally been experienced as early as June and as late as November. Spells of bad weather, with strong winds and heavy rain, normally occur several times each year owing to the passage of these storms at varying distances from the Colony. Gales due to typhoons occur on the average about once a year, but it is only rarely that the centre of a fully- developed typhoon passes sufficiently close to Hong Kong to produce winds of hurricane force. The last such disaster occured on 2nd September, 1937, when the wind speed reached 145 knots in a gust and 28 steamships were stranded in and around the harbour. map which shows the track of this typhoon is between pages 234 and 235.
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1954 was the driest year in Hong Kong since 1895. The total rainfall recorded at the Royal Observatory amounted to only 53.82 inches, which is 30.82 inches below normal. January and February were milder than usual, March was notable for an unusually fine display of solar haloes which was seen on the 23rd, and April was generally unsettled with rain on most days and much low cloud and mist.
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