Warmest January to April on Record

January to April 2002 was the warmest on record. The mean temperature of 20.4 degrees at the Hong Kong Observatory was 2.3 degrees above normal, the warmest for the period. The mean minimum temperature of 18.7 degrees for the same period, 2.6 degrees above normal, was also the highest on record. The previous record was set in 1999 when the mean temperature and mean minimum temperature for January to April were 20.2 and 18.2 degrees respectively.

The mean temperature for April 2002 was 24.6 degrees, the third warmest April on record. Although the monthly rainfall of 12.4 millimetres for April 2002 was the third lowest on record, the accumulated rainfall for the first four months of the year was 280.7 millimetres, near the normal figure of 299.8 millimetres for the same period following a wet March.

The lack of significant surges of the winter monsoon and above normal sunshine are the causes of the warm temperatures.