This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing.The Hong Kong Observatory issued a cold weather warning on Wednesday and forecast temperatures to drop further ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
The forecaster said the mercury would fall further to a minimum of 11 degrees on Thursday in urban areas and a couple of degrees lower in the New Territories.
“The weather in Hong Kong will become cold appreciably with a few rain patches on [Wednesday] night to [Thursday] morning,” it said, as it issued the warning at 4.20pm.
“Members of the public should be aware of the change in weather, keep warm, put on warm clothes and take care of the elderly and persons with chronic medical conditions.”
Temperatures on Wednesday ranged from 14 to 19 degrees, and the weather was cloudy with a few rain patches in the afternoon and at night, it added.
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The forecaster predicted a cold spell would arrive on Lunar New Year’s Eve on Friday, with temperatures ranging from 11 to 15 degrees. Lunar New Year’s Day on Saturday would remain chilly.
It said cold weather over the coast of Guangdong emerged because of the northeast monsoon and a broad band of rain and clouds.
To prevent health risks, the public should not be exposed to chilly winds for a long time, it said.
Sunny periods are expected later in the holiday with the weather gradually becoming warmer next week.
“A dry continental airstream is expected to bring mainly fine weather to southern China during the Lunar New Year holiday. The temperature difference between day and night over the region will be relatively large,” it said.
“Under the influence of a relatively humid easterly airstream, it will be misty over the coast of Guangdong in the middle and latter parts of next week.”
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