Hong Kong experienced the coldest autumn temperature so far on Wednesday, with the Observatory recording 13.2 degrees Celsius at its headquarters in Tsim Sha Tsui at around 6am.
The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) attributed the cold weather to an intense northeast monsoon.
Temperatures were about one to two degrees lower in parts of the New Territories.
On Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s highest peak, the mercury dipped to 3.2 degrees Celsius at 6am, according to the Observatory.
The weather has also become very dry. Relative humidity was at 35 per cent at 10.30am with the Red Fire Danger warning signal in force, indicating an extreme fire risk.
The Observatory predicted “mainly cloudy and cool” weather on Wednesday, with sunny intervals during the day. The strong monsoon signal is in force, but the wind will moderate later.
Tse Shuk-mei, the Observatory’s acting assistant director, said on an RTHK programme on Tuesday that temperatures this winter in Hong Kong would range from “normal to above-normal.”
She said winter temperatures in the city had shown an increasing trend over the long term due to global warming.
Hong Kong is likely to see nine to 17 cold weather days this winter, meaning temperatures will fall to 12 degrees Celsius or below, Tse said.
