- This month is bucking the trend of higher average temperatures so far in 2024; experts say warmer weather expected this year as it is an El Nino year
- Mercury to drop in the following days as a cold front reaches the coast of southern China
Hong Kong shivers through coldest start to March since 2016, defying expectations. Photo: Sam TsangHong Kong has recorded its coldest beginning to the month of March since 2016. The weather is defying expectations and bucking the trend of higher mercury levels so far in 2024, as per data compiled by the SCMP.
Using data from the Hong Kong Observatory, the Post found that the average maximum temperature for the first 14 days of the month was 20.6 degrees Celsius (69 degrees Fahrenheit), down from 24.4 degrees in 2023 and 25.2 degrees in 2022.
It was similarly colder when accounting for daily mean and minimum temperatures.
The last time the mercury was this low in the first half of March was 2016, when the average maximum temperature was 20.1 degrees. In 2015, the average maximum temperature was even lower, at 19.3 degrees.
“In an El Nino year, we expect warmer weather but we don’t see that’s the case, so this is interesting,” said Leung Wing-mo, a former assistant director at the Observatory.
Leung said while it was too early to draw “quick conclusions”, the temperature generally depended on whether there was still cool air coming into the city from the north and the amount of cloud coverage.
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The start to March marked a sharp turn from what the Observatory described as an “exceptionally warm” winter for the city over the past three months.
The mercury ran higher than normal between last December and February, the forecaster said, with last month’s average maximum temperature being 21.9 degrees, 2.5 degrees hotter than normal.
The Observatory earlier predicted warmer than average weather for March to May.
“Against the backdrop of climate warming, spring temperatures in Hong Kong exhibit a significant long-term increasing trend,” it said. “The chance of normal to above-normal temperature is generally higher.”
Leung said that while the start of March had been cooler than usual, ongoing effects of climate change meant that residents should continue to expect rising temperatures by this time next year.
“Weather tends to fluctuate,” he said. “It is probably very likely we will see another hot March next year.”
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Hong Kong was blanketed in a thick fog for much of Saturday, while the humidity climbed to as high as 90 per cent. Temperatures at the Observatory headquarters reached 22.4 degrees at around 3pm.
Foggy and humid conditions will continue into Sunday, with a high of 25 degrees. But temperatures will start to drop in the following days as a cold front reaches the coast of southern China. By Wednesday, temperatures are expected to be as cool as 16 degrees.