The Environment 297
Climate
Hong Kong's climate is sub-tropical, tending towards the temperate for nearly half the year. November and December are generally regarded as the best months of the year with pleasant breezes, plenty of sunshine and comfortable temperatures.
January and February are cloudier, with occasional cold fronts bringing in cold northerly winds. Temperatures can drop below 10 degrees Celsius in urban areas. Sub-zero temperatures and frost occur on high ground infrequently.
March and April can be mild and pleasant but humid. Fog sometimes disrupts air traffic and ferry services because of reduced visibility.
From May to August, it is hot and humid with occasional showers and thunderstorms. Afternoon temperatures often exceed 31 degrees, but at night temperatures generally stay around 26 degrees.
Hong Kong is more likely to be affected by tropical cyclones between June and October. When a tropical cyclone is some 1 000 kilometres southeast of Hong Kong, the weather is usually fine and exceptionally hot. The close approach of tropical cyclones could bring high winds and heavy and widespread rain. Landslips and flooding sometimes cause considerably more damage than the winds.
About 80 per cent of the annual rainfall occurs between May and September. August is the wettest month while January is the driest.
Severe weather phenomena in Hong Kong include tropical cyclones, strong winter and summer monsoon winds, monsoon troughs and thunderstorms with associated squalls. Waterspouts and hailstorms occur infrequently, while snow and tornadoes are rare.
The Year's Weather
2006 was the eighth warmest year since Hong Kong started recording temperatures in 1884. The annual mean temperature of 23.5 degrees was 0.5 degree higher than normal. The monthly mean temperature of October 2006 (26.4 degrees) equalled the record of October set in 1983, while that of November 2006 (23.3 degrees) broke the November record set in 1998 (23.2 degrees). The year 2006 was also wet. The annual rainfall of 2 627.8 millimetres was about 19 per cent above the normal of 2 214.3 millimetres.
Seven tropical cyclones affected Hong Kong, which was near normal.
Meteorological Services
Hong Kong Observatory
The Hong Kong Observatory was established in 1883, mainly to provide time service and weather information for the safe navigation of ships. Since then, it has evolved in line with community needs, providing services in weather forecasting, climatology, hydrometeorology, physical oceanography, and radiation monitoring and assessment. The Observatory also administers the official time standard for Hong
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