M 39
REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
PHYSICAL CONDITIONS AND CLIMATE.
1. The Colony of Hongkong consists of the Island of that name, a few islets in its immediate neighbourhood, 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 situate just within the limit of the northern tropic. The latitude and longitude at the Royal Observatory in Kowloon are:—
Latitude 22° 18′ 13.2", Longitude 114° 10' 27".
2. The Island of Hongkong, while of very irregular contour and deeply indented, has its greatest length roughly East and West. The Harbour lies between the island and the mainland.
The Kowloon peninsula lies roughly North and South.
The Island of Hongkong consists of a range of hills rising steeply to approximately 1,800 feet at its highest point—The Peak—with very little flat land except that which has been reclaimed from the sea in and near the City of Victoria situated on the northern shore.
South of the range of hills which divides the area of the New Territories not under the supervision of the Sanitary Board from the Kowloon peninsula, the land is much flatter than in Hongkong and here a large amount of the land has been reclaimed by the filling of bays and estuaries of streams. Many small hills have been razed for the purpose of such reclamation.
Geologically the Colony consists chiefly of decomposed granite and the sub-soil is permeable to and retentive of water.
The hillsides are generally well wooded or covered with a dense growth of shrubs.
The climate of the Colony is variable. The table following shows the monthly means or sums of the meteorological data recorded during the year under review.
The coincidence of high temperatures and humidity is noticeable.
The rainfall for the year was only 69.435 inches as compared with 97.340 in 1922. This comparatively small rainfall was responsible for a shortage of water necessitating curtailment of supply during the drier months of the year.