Lunar New Year will be cloudy and humid as we usher in Year of the Rooster
The Hong Kong Observatory expecting visibility to be low during festivities, possibly affecting Sunday’s fireworks show
Visibility is not expected to be this clear for the Lunar New Year.The first three days of the new lunar year - Saturday to Monday - are expected to be milder and warmer than the same time during the last two years. It will also be more cloudy as a relatively humid easterly air stream approaches the Guangdong coast.
Temperatures of around 17 to 23 degrees Celsius are expected for the next three days. But temperatures may drop into the mid-teens by Tuesday as a northeast monsoon “surge” brings cooler weather back to coastal areas, according to the Observatory.
The rest of the week, following the public holidays, is forecast to be mostly fine and sunny.
Humidity is forecast to go as high as 95 per cent on Sunday and Monday, while “one or two rain patches” could be expected in the morning and night, the Observatory says.
Visibility is also expected to be low, this may possibly affect views of the Lunar New Year fireworks display on Sunday night.
A total of 23,888 fireworks will be shot into the air during the 23-minute display.
Last year, Hong Kong experienced a week of chilly weather, which saw temperatures drop as low as 9.9 degrees on Lunar New Year’s Eve and 11.6 degrees on New Year’s Day.
Observatory scientific officer Chong Sze-ning said the maximum temperature forecast for this year's New Year’s Day is around 20 degrees, and that new year weather in the last few years had been warmer than usual.
Festive flower growers and sellers have already seen their produce bloom earlier than usual this year as a result of warmer weather. Last month being the second-hottest December in 132 years.
The highest New Year’s Day temperature recorded in the 30 years between 1981 and 2010 was 17.8 degrees, and the minimum was 13.9 degrees.
Edited by Heidi Yeung