Cold, wet March keeps Hong Kong gloomy, as warm weather hits town
Temperatures almost two degrees lower than average making it the city’s equal coldest start to spring in more than a decade
Wet days and cold nights kept Hong Kong gloomy in March – and the city’s meteorologists say there could be more on the way.
Temperatures were almost two degrees lower than average, the city’s equal coldest start to spring in more than a decade, with double the normal rainfall for the year.
“The cold, humid weather will continue, and the situation will last for a couple of a days at least into April,” Hong Kong Observatory chief experimental officer Li Kin-wai said.
As of March 31, the mean temperature for the month was 17.4 degrees, almost two degrees below the usual monthly average of 19.1 degrees.
So far, it has been Hong Kong’s coldest March since 2005, when the average temperature for the month was also 17.4 degrees.
A photo posted by Ryan Orr (@ryanorr) on Mar 31, 2016 at 2:22am PDT
Li said the cold, muggy weather had been due to a strong weather pattern which had settled for most of March off the coast of China.
“[It was] due to the competing for dominance between the north-east monsoon and humid maritime air stream over the South China Coast - that’s the cause of the gloomy and humid weather,” he said.
The city was drenched in almost double the normal amount of rainfall in March 2016, as 148.7mm fell on Hong Kong up until the 31st.
March makes Hong Kong’s third month in a row to be colder than average, with temperatures dropping even lower on average than in February when locals shivered through 9.4 degree days.
Li said while March’s unfriendly weather had been due to competing air streams, February’s was instead the result of a stronger than normal north-east monsoon.
High humidity and warm temperatures will mark Hong Kong’s first weeks of April, as the Hong Kong Observatory forecasts highs of about 25 degrees with rain early next week.
