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SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 1976
RECORD LOW TEMPERATURE LAST MONTH
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SEVERAL NEW RECORDS IN TEMPERATURE READINGS WERE SET IN DECEMBER 1975.
THE MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF THE MONTH, 4.3 DEGREES CELSIUS, WAS THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE FOR 1975 AND WAS ALSO A NEW RECORD FOR DECEMBER.
THE MEAN TEMPERATURE OF 14.5 DEGREES CELSIUS AND THE MEAN MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 12.1 DEGREES CELSIUS WERE THE LOWEST ON RECORD FOR THE MONTH.
EXPLAINING THE WEATHER FOR DECEMBER, THE DIRECTOR OF ROYAL ORSERVATORY, MR. GORDON BELL, NOTED THAT HONG KONG EXPERIENCED COLD WEATHER FOR NEARLY THE WHOLE MONTH EXCEPT FOR THE FIRST EIGHT DAYS.
THE FIRST EIGHT DAYS WERE MILD AND HUMID. THE MONTH'S MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 25.8 DEGREES CELSIUS WAS RECURDED ON DECEMBER 7.
HOWEVER, WITH THE ARRIVAL OF A COLD FRONT ON DECEMBER 8, TEMPERATURE REGAN TO FALL STEADILY. THE WEATHER THEN REMAINED CLOUDY WITH PERIODS OF RAIN FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
DETWEEN DECEMBER 13 AND 17, SLIGHT SNOW WAS REPORTED AT TAI MO SHAN WHILE WIDESPREAD ICE AND FROST VERE OBSERVED ON HICH GROUND AND IN THE NEW TERRITORIES. THE LOWEST TEMPERATURE OF 4.3 DEGREES CELSIUS WAS RECORDED ON DECEMBER 14.
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MR. BELL NOTED THAT IT WAS OF INTEREST THAT DURING THIS PERIOD THE AIR TEMPERATURES WERE ABOVE FREEZING AT ALL LEVELS BETWEEN THE SURFACE AND 3,200 METRES.
HE SAID THAT ONE REASON FOR THE FORMATION OF WIDESPREAD ICE WAS THAT THE MOUNTAIN TOPS WERE COOLED BY RADIATION AND WERE COOLER THAN THE SURROUNDING AIR AT THE SAME LEVEL SO THAT RAIN DROPS WOULD HAVE FROZEN AFTER MAKING CONTACT WITH THE GROUND,+
THE WEATHER IMPROVED ON DECEMBER 15 AND THE REST OF THE MONTH WAS FINE AND DRY. FIRE DANGER WARNINGS WERE IN FORCE FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD.
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