Northeast monsoon to bring 15°C chill to Hong Kong on Friday morning

Hong Kong is set to experience a noticeable drop in temperatures on Friday as a replenishment of the northeast monsoon reaches the South China coast tonight, the Hong Kong Observatory said.

The Observatory reported that relative humidity in most districts fell below 40 percent around noon today under the influence of a dry northeast monsoon. With another surge of monsoon winds expected to arrive overnight, northerly winds will strengthen progressively tonight.

Forecasters said temperatures in urban areas are expected to fall to 15 to 16 degrees Celsius early Friday, with the New Territories a few degrees cooler. The Observatory urged the public to prepare for persistently fine and very dry conditions over the next couple of days.

The region is also monitoring Tropical Storm Koto, which at noon was located about 360 kilometers northeast of Nansha. The storm is moving west or west-northwest at around 18 kilometers per hour across the southern part of the South China Sea, though it is not currently expected to impact Hong Kong significantly.

Today’s weather will remain fine and very dry in the afternoon, with moderate northeasterly winds that will strengthen from the north later tonight.

Looking ahead, the city is expected to turn cloudier on Saturday, with one or two rain patches developing in the following days as the monsoon continues to dominate Hong Kong’s weather pattern.