July 6, 2023
HONG KONG – Hong Kong saw temperatures rise above normal levels for the sixth consecutive month in June, making the first half of the year “abnormally warm,” the Hong Kong Observatory said on Tuesday.
The HKO said in a statement that the city was hotter than usual last month due to the warmer than normal sea surface temperature over the northern part of the South China Sea and the prevalence of a southerly flow.
The city’s monthly mean maximum temperature in June of 31.9 degrees Celsius and monthly mean temperature of 29.2 C were respectively 1.2 degrees and 0.9 degree above normal levels, both ranking as the fourth highest on record for June, the HKO said
“Moreover, the monthly mean minimum temperature of 27.1 C was 0.6 degree above normal and one of the fifth highest on record. With all six months warmer than usual, the first half of 2023 was abnormally warm,” it added.
The Observatory said that the mean maximum temperature of 25.5 C was the third highest on record for the same period while the mean temperature of 22.8 C and the mean minimum temperature of 20.8 C were both the fifth highest on record for the same period.
The monthly rainfall of June 2023 was 490.9 millimeters, near the normal of 491.5 millimeters. However, the accumulated rainfall recorded in the first six months of the year was 841.3 millimeters, or about 22 percent below the normal figure of 1 082.5 millimeters for the same period, the HKO added.
The Observatory said it was extremely hot on the afternoons of June 2 and 3 with maximum temperatures reaching 35 C or above in many places.
The maximum temperature recorded at the Observatory on the afternoon of June 2 was 35.2 C, the highest of the month and the third highest monthly absolute maximum temperature on record for June, the HKO said.
With the trough of low pressure lingering over the coastal areas of Guangdong, the weather in Hong Kong deteriorated with occasional heavy showers and squally thunderstorms on June 13 to 17.
More than 200 millimetres of rainfall were recorded generally over the territory and rainfall even exceeded 300 millimetres over its eastern part and parts of Hong Kong Island and Lantau Island on these five days.
The heavy rain on the afternoon of June 17 necessitated the issuance of the Red Rainstorm Warning Signal and there were reports of serious flooding over some places in the New Territories. Under the rain, temperatures at the Observatory dropped to a minimum of 25.1 C on June 14, the lowest of the month, the HKO added.