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Lo Hoi-ying

Hong Kong will experience between four and seven typhoons from June to October, according to the city’s weather forecaster, fewer than half of last year’s record-breaking 14 tropical cyclones.
The Observatory also said on Monday the city would be hotter than average this year under the influence of the warming El Nino weather phenomenon.
The tropical cyclone season in Hong Kong is expected to start in June or later and end in October or before, according to Observatory director Chan Pak-wai.
“There are likely to be about four to seven tropical cyclones coming within 500km [310 miles] of Hong Kong during the year, which is near normal,” he said.
Chan said the possibility of an El Nino event developing in the second half of the year increased the likelihood of extreme heat across many regions and in the ocean.
“The annual mean temperature in Hong Kong is expected to be above normal this year with a high chance of reaching the warmest top 10 on record,” he said.
But since it was still just spring, the timing of El Nino and its effect on Hong Kong’s weather could only be determined more accurately closer to summer, he added.
While fewer typhoons were predicted for 2026, residents should prepare for heavy rain and localised torrential downpours, Chan said.
He noted there had been instances in past El Nino years where a No 10 typhoon signal was issued, such as with Super Typhoon Saola in 2023.
Annual rainfall in Hong Kong was expected to be near normal, ranging from 2,100mm to 2,700mm.
Chan noted the “record-breaking” weather in 2025 was the sixth-warmest year in Hong Kong.
Globally, 2025 is on track to be the second or third-warmest year on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s preliminary assessment.
“October 2025 was exceptionally warm, breaking the records of monthly mean temperature, monthly mean minimum temperature and number of hot days and hot nights for October,” Chan said.
The past winter, between last December and February, was also the warmest on record, with the mean temperature reaching 19.3 degrees Celsius (66.7 Fahrenheit), two degrees above normal, Chan said.
There were six cold days last year, 9.2 days fewer than normal for the 1991 to 2020 period.

Last year was also the first time that no cold weather warning was in force in November or December since the alert system was introduced in 1999.
“There were five black rainstorm warnings, breaking the annual number on record since the rainstorm warning system began operation in 1992,” Chan said.
Last year also saw the Observatory issue 14 typhoon warning signals, the most since 1946, he said.
The warnings included No 10 alerts for Typhoon Wipha and Super Typhoon Ragasa, which pummelled the city in July and September, respectively.
Chan said the seawater around the Philippines was abnormally warm at the time of last year’s typhoon prediction, leading to the expectation of five to eight, which he said was already a particularly high number.
But due to El Nino, the Eastern Pacific near North America was warmer, while Western Pacific waters remained normal, so the number of typhoons was expected to go back down, he said.
Chan also revealed that in the second half of this year, the Observatory’s mobile application would pilot a trial version of weather information for several cities in South Korea and Thailand.
He added the feature, in collaboration with local authorities, would be gradually extended to “other places that Hong Kong people like to travel to”.


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Observatory director Chan Pak-wai says city will also be hotter than average in 2026 due to El Nino weather phenomenon


Observatory director Chan Pak-wai says city will also be hotter than average in 2026 due to El Nino weather phenomenon.


Hong Kong expected to face 4 to 7 typhoons in 2026

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Observatory director Chan Pak-wai says city will also be hotter than average in 2026 due to El Nino weather phenomenon

Observatory director Chan Pak-wai says city will also be hotter than average in 2026 due to El Nino weather phenomenon