The climate in Hong Kong

Climate zone: tropics

The climate in Hong Kong is very warm, with an annual average of 26 degrees, but has few truly tropical and sticky months. For 8 months, the average temperatures are over 25 degrees. Pleasant water temperatures of up to 28 degrees even invite you to bathe in the warm season. The warmest and rainiest part of the country is Kowloon. The coldest is New Territories. Due to less rain, the best time for traveling is from October to March. The most rain days occur from from May to September.

Temperature records of the last 73 years

The hottest temperature measured from 1950 to January 2023 was reported by the Prince Edward weather station. In August 2017, the record temperature of 36.9 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 2 weather stations in Hong Kong , was recorded in 1969 with an average temperature of 28.9 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 28.2 degrees Celsius.

The coldest day in these 73 years was reported by the Prince Edward weather station. Here the temperature dropped to 2.6 °C in January 2016. Prince Edward lies at an altitude of 66 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1957 with an average temperature of 15.1 °C. In Hong Kong, it is usual to have about 1.9 degrees more at 17.0 °C for this three-month period.

The most precipitation fell in June 2008. With 44.4 mm per day, the Prince Edward weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 73 years.

Long-term development of temperatures from 1993 - 2022

In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 1 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.

In the years 1993 to 2022, there were only these 1 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Prince Edward). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was July 2020 at 29.8 °C. February 2008 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 13.2 °C.

The average annual temperature was about 22.8 °C in the years after 1993 and about 23.8 °C in the last years before 2022. So in less than 30 years, it has increased by about 0.9 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 1 weather stations in Hong Kong. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.

Data basis and methodology

The data from the individual measuring stations are based on the archives of the German Weather Service, individual values averaged and supplemented by own elements. In order to determine a representative national average, average values were first calculated for each part of the country, which were then summarized at the national level. There are 2 stations in Hong Kong itself. In one case, a nearby weather station from a neighboring country was used to obtain more accurate values.