XN000022-1983-08-21 — Page 2

SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 1983

JULY: HOTTER AND DRIER THAN USUAL

LAST MONTH WAS THE 33.6 DEGREES CELSIUS ON MONTH, ACCORDING TO THE REPORT PUBLISHED TODAY,

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SECOND HOTTEST JULY SINCE 1884, WITH JULY 11 AS THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE OF THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY'S MONTHLY WEATHER

THE TOTAL RAINFALL IN JULY, MEASURING 131.2 MM, WAS ONLY ABOUT 41 PER CENT OF THE NORMAL FIGURE. IT WAS THE FIRST MONTH IN THE YEAR WITH BELOW AVERAGE RAINFALL AND WAS THE FOURTH LOWEST ON RECORD FOR THE MONTH.

BUT THE ACCUMULATED RAINFALL FOR THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, MEASURING 1 865.9 MM, WAS STILL 42 PER CENT ABOVE NORMAL.

JULY WAS HOTTER AND LESS HUMID THAN USUAL, WITH THE MEAN MINIMUM TEMPERATURE OF 27.5 DEGREES CELSIUS BEING THE HIGHEST, AND THE MEAN RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF 78 PER CENT THE THIRD LOWEST ON RECORD FOR THE MONTH.

THE MONTH STARTED WITH A FINE SPELL WHICH PERSISTED UNTIL JULY 11, WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS DURING THE FIRST NINE DAYS.

SCATTERED SHOWERS OCCURRED ON JULY 12 AND 13 AS SEVERE TROPICAL STORM TIP MOVED ACROSS THE NORTHERN PART OF THE SOUTH CHINA SEA.

THE SHOWERS BECAME LIGHT AND ISOLATED ON JULY 14 AND THE WEATHER WAS FINE THE FOLLOWING DAY.

THE WEATHER ON JULY 16-17 WAS AFFECTED BY TYPHOON VERA. SCATTERED SHOWERS OCCURRED ON THE MORNING OF JULY 16 AND WINDS WERE FRESH EAST-NORTHEASTERLY. SHOWERS BECAME MORE FREQUENT DURING THE DAY AND THERE WERE ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS AT NIGHT. MEANWHILE, WINDS VEERED TO THE EAST AND BECAME STRONG IN EXPOSED AREAS.

SHOWERS CONTINUED ON JULY 17 WHILE WINDS TURNED SOUTHEASTERLY AND GRADUALLY MODERATED.

THE WEATHER REMAINED SHOWERY ON JULY 18. HOWEVER, IT WAS FINE FROM JULY 19 TO 24 APART FROM SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS BETWEEN JULY 22 AND 24.

CLOUDY WEATHER SET IN DURING THE DAY ON JULY 25. SHOWERS STARTED AROUND MIDNIGHT ON JULY 26 AND BECAME HEAVY AND THUNDERY THE FOLLOWING MORNING,

MORE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OCCURRED ON JULY 28, BUT THE WEATHER IMPROVED RAPIDLY IN THE AFTERNOON.

APART FROM SOME ISOLATED SHOWERS, THE WEATHER WAS FINE FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH.

/DURING THE