AnnualReport-1928

M 131

REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.

The area of the Colony, except when otherwise mentioned, dealt with in this report, includes the island of Hong Kong, the Kowloon peninsula and that portion of the New Territories known as New Kowloon, on the mainland, but does not include the remaining or greater portion of the New Territories, such being without the jurisdiction of the Sanitary Board.

The latitude and longitude of the Royal Observatory in the Kowloon peninsula are:- Latitude 22° 18′ 13.2" N., Longitude 114° 10' 26.4" E.

I. METEOROLOGICAL DATA

Table I.

The following, Table I, gives the means or totals of the Meteorological data for the several months of the year 1928.

Month Barometer at M.S.L. TEMPERA-TURE HUMI-DITY Cloudiness Sunshine WIND Rain ins. Max Mean Min Rel. Abs. p.c. hours ins. Direction Vel. miles p.h. January 30.15 65.9 61.6 57.8 82 0.46 82 93.7 1.880 ENE 11.8 February 30.18 63.1 58.7 55.0 82 0.41 84 73.3 3.570 ENE 10.8 March 30.01 67.3 63.2 60.2 87 April 29.95 75.5 70.9 67.8 5.185 E by N 15.0 May 29.83 81.8 77.4 74.0 83 0.57 73 129.1 4.105 E 13.3 June 29.71 84.3 79.9 76.5 86 0.81 78 133.9 18.410 E 9.8 July 29.71 88.5 83.5 79.9 81 0.84 80 176.0 15.130 E by S 10.5 August 29.68 87.5 82.4 78.7 83 0.92 84 282.8 4.780 ESE 8.6 September 29.78 86.2 81.6 77.9 204.8 12.910 S 8.2 October 30.03 80.1 75.1 71.1 75 0.80 65 199.7 3.915 NE by E 10.8 November 30.10 74.0 69.3 65.7 35 0.49 57 263.0 0.435 ENE 11.5 December 30.16 70.5 65.6 61.9 72 0.51 67 223 0.815 NE by E 10.5 Mean or Total 29.94 77.1 72.4 68.9 79 0.65 68 169.7 71.156 E 11.2

CLIMATE-few notes in relation to Health.

Although, even in Summer, the temperature is never very high (i.e. below 90° F.), the Absolute Humidity approaches 1.00 in the Summer months, while the mean Relative Humidity is about 80%, which make the period from May to September extremely trying, especially for Europeans. Perspiration, in a nearly saturated atmosphere, ceases to serve its purpose, and the heat-regulating and respiratory centres are over-taxed, with a resultant stress on all the body systems. Moreover, there is no relief at night, as the temperature remains high.

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