THE ENVIRONMENT
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and August. It was interesting to note that Guangzhou recorded 2 220 mm which was about 30 per cent above normal while Yangjiang, about 200 km west of Macau, had a remarkable 3 042 mm. The year was also generally hot in Hong Kong. The mean minimum temperature of 21.2°C and the mean temperature of 23.1°C were the second and the fifth highest on record respectively. The number of tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific and China seas was near normal and tropical cyclone warning signals were hoisted in Hong Kong on five occasions. Severe Tropical Storm Lynn was the only tropical cyclone that came close enough to cause gales in Hong Kong.
There was no measurable rainfall during January as in four previous dry periods of the month in 1884, 1914, 1932 and 1966. The total rainfall during December 1980 and January 1981 amounted to only 0.7 mm which was the lowest on record for the two-month period. A sunny spell started on January 9, and lasted until January 20.
The winter was quite mild and the mean temperature from December 1980 to February 1981 was 17.3°C which was the sixth highest on record for this period. February was more humid with 17 misty days, nine of which coastal fog was reported. The misty spell persisted from February 13 to 25. Fog was widespread on February 14 and a three-decker ferry with 564 passengers onboard ran aground on Green Island around 9 a.m., but there were no casualties. An intense cold front passed Hong Kong on February 24 and the minimum temperature of 9.5°C recorded on February 27 was the lowest in the year.
March was wetter and warmer than usual. The mean temperature of 20.6°C was the third highest on record for March. The most significant weather event in the month was the hailstorm on March 19. This made 1981 the third consecutive year with hail recorded in Hong Kong but only the seventh since 1940. Following an observation of a funnel cloud over the sea to the south of Cheung Chau around noon on that date, hail was reported from 5.35 p.m. to 6 p.m. over Kowloon and again from 9.43 p.m. to 11.10 p.m. over Hong Kong Island and parts of Lantau Island. This was the most widespread hailstorm over the urban areas since 1940. Some of the hailstones were reported to be as broad as the rim of a rice bowl, about 100 mm in diameter. Corrugated plastic shelters in car parks and on roof-tops were punctured. Although some newspapers reported hailstones the size of wash-basins, killing seven people and various livestock in Guangdong, no hail damage was reported by farmers in the New Territories. There were also six days with thunderstorms in March which was the highest number on record for March in post-war years. Squally thunder- storms accompanied the passage of a cold front around 3.30 a.m. on March 15. Gusts reached 33 m/s at Cheung Chau and a 16-year-old girl was drowned when a junk capsized off Chi Ma Wan.
April was hotter and drier than usual. The month's mean temperature of 24.2°C was the highest on record and equalled those in 1975 and 1977. April was the seventh consecutive month with above normal temperatures and there were eight days with thunderstorms during the month.
May was cooler and wetter than usual. A cold front arrived on the morning of May 3 with northerly winds, and hail was reported by a pilot flying about 200 metres over Lei Yue Mun Gap at 2.35 p.m. Thunderstorms and heavy showers occurred on May 10, 11 and 31. There were numerous landslips and flooding was reported in Sha Tin and Tai Po.
June 1981 was the third driest June since records began. The month's total rainfall of 106.4 mm was 325.4 mm below normal. Never-the-less heavy showers on June 5 caused a landslip on King's Road, killing one person. Severe Tropical Storm Ike recurved near Hainan and struck Taiwan on June 13. A funnel cloud was sighted at Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island, around 8.40 a.m. on June 27.