The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) detailed the climate phenomena of 2023 and forecasted the weather for Hong Kong in 2024 during a press conference today. According to the Observatory, last year continued the trend of the past decade, supporting the latest report from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which states that “the past eight years were the warmest on record globally, with a temperature about 1.15 [1.02 to 1.27] °C above pre-industrial levels” (source).
In 2023, new records were established based on six different datasets used by the organisation.
In Hong Kong, 2023 was notably warmer, with an average temperature of 24.5°C, significantly above the historical norm, marking it as the second-warmest year since 1884. The Observatory recorded a high number of extremely hot days and nights.
For 2024, the tropical cyclone season in Hong Kong is expected to commence in June, with 5 to 8 cyclones predicted to approach within 500km of the SAR, by October. Amid ongoing climate warming, temperatures are anticipated to exceed average levels, potentially ranking among the top ten warmest years. Rainfall is forecasted to be near normal, yet heavy rains could impact the region. Last year, Hong Kong got its heaviest rainfall in 140 years.
As the rainy season nears, the HKO will implement a series of measures to better track the weather (i.e. replacement of the weather radar at Tai Mo Shan) and communicate more with the public during severe weather conditions, including hourly briefings under the Black Rainstorm Signal, more information regarding the weather in the Greater Bay Area (Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao) through the “MyObservatory” app, and the improvement of the chatbot, “Dr. Tin”.
Header Image Credit : The HK HUB and WikiImages and via Canva
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