M 35
REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
The Colony of Hongkong consists of the Island of that name, the peninsula of Kowloon and the so-called New Territories which are held on lease from the Chinese Government for a period of ninety-nine years from 1898.
The area of the Island is about 32 square miles, that of the Kowloon Peninsula about two and three-quarter square miles, and that of the leased New Territories about 282 square miles.
Of the leased territory, 266 square miles are without the jurisdiction of the Sanitary Board.
The Colony is situated just within the limit of the northern tropic (22°5').
The climate of the Colony is somewhat difficult of brief description. It may perhaps be said to vary from temperate in the winter months to tropical in the summer, while it is sub-tropical in the early spring and late autumn.
Owing to the stabilising effect of the ocean, extreme range of temperature does not occur. Between the mean monthly minimum and the mean monthly maximum temperatures as recorded by Standard thermometers, there is a range of about 33 to 34 degrees Fahrenheit.
A much greater range of temperature has, however, to be borne by the inhabitants. Very slight frosts have occasionally been observed on the hills in winter, and within houses, sometimes in summer, a temperature of nearly 100° F. is reached.
When such high temperatures are accompanied by a high Relative Humidity, the effect is extremely depressing.
Although Hongkong is an island, the climate cannot be described as insular; the huge bulk of China proper to the north and east of the Colony, in its effect on the local climate, suggests the term maritime-continental as a suitable epithet to apply to the climate. During the winter months, relatively cold winds from the north-east blow over the Colony from the mainland of China and compel European residents to wear thick clothing and to heat their houses artificially.
During the summer months, the general direction of the wind varies from E.S.E. to S., and it is during this period, roughly from May to September, that the greater portion of the annual rainfall occurs. The hot and wet seasons therefore synchronise.
The following table, compiled from the monthly reports issued from the Royal Observatory, gives the monthly means of the various Meteorological phenomena recorded during the year.
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