Hong Kong issues year’s first ‘very hot weather’ warning

This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.Hong Kong issued its first “very hot weather” warning of the year on Tuesday, with temperatures expected to reach as high as 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit).The forecaster said an anticyclone aloft would bring “generally fine and very hot weather” to the coast of Guangdong, expecting the sweltering conditions to persist until Friday. But it added that conditions would become unsettled towards the end of the week.The forecaster issued the warning at 7.45am, the first such alert this year.By 10.50am, temperatures had reached 32.3 degrees in Sheung Shui and 31.8 degrees in Ta Kwu Ling.According to the latest nine-day forecast, temperatures are expected to remain as high as 33 degrees until Friday before easing slightly over the weekend.“A trough of low pressure is expected to edge closer to the coast of southern China towards the weekend. The weather will become unsettled, with showers and thunderstorms over the region,” it said, adding that an easterly airstream would affect the coast of Guangdong from late this week into early next week.The Observatory typically issues the very hot weather warning when the maximum daily temperature in urban or widespread areas is forecast to reach 33 degrees or above, although the threshold is not rigid.Other factors, including relative humidity, wind speed and direction, as well as the Hong Kong Heat Index, are also considered.Further Reading