ENG-1958 — Page 348

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

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Lantau, which is nearly double the size of Hong Kong Island, most of the islands are small. They range in character from the thickly-populated Cheung Chau, with its large fishing community, soya and preserved fruit factories, and junk-building yards, to places like the Ninepins, which are no more than granite rock, used seasonally, and by day only, by fishermen drying fish or repairing nets.

CLIMATE

Although the Colony lies just within the tropics, it enjoys a variety of weather from season to season which is unusual in tropical regions. The climate is governed by monsoons. The north-east monsoon sets in during October and persists with occasional breaks until April, bringing cool air from high latitudes. Early winter is the most pleasant time of the year, when the weather is generally dry and sunny. After the New Year the sky is more often clouded, though rainfall remains slight; dull overcast days with a chilly wind are frequent. Coastal fogs occur from time to time in early spring during breaks in the monsoon, when warm south-easterly winds may temporarily displace the cool north- easterlies.

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The summer is the rainy season, three-quarters of the average annual rainfall of 84.76 inches occurring during the period May to September. The south-west monsoon lasts from June to August, but is not so persistent as the north-east monsoon of winter. The weather during the summer is continuously hot and humid, and often cloudy and showery with occasional thunderstorms.

The mean monthly temperature ranges from 59°F in February to 82°F in July, the average for the year being 72°F. The temper- ature very rarely rises above 95°F in summer, or falls below 40°F in winter. The mean relative humidity exceeds 80% from March until August, but in early winter it may occasionally fall as low as 20%. The average daily duration of sunshine ranges from three hours in March to seven hours in October.

Hong Kong is liable to be affected by typhoons during the period July to October, and typhoon gales have occasionally been experienced as early as May and as late as November. Spells of bad weather, with strong winds and heavy rain, normally occur several times each year owing to the passage of these storms at