The Weather of January 2022
7 February 2022
With the northeast monsoon over the south China coast generally weaker than normal for most of the time in the month, January 2022 was much warmer than usual in Hong Kong. The monthly mean minimum temperature of 16.5 degrees and monthly mean temperature of 18.0 degrees were 1.9 degrees and 1.5 degrees above their corresponding normals and respectively the fourth and fifth highest on record for January. The month was also drier than usual with a total rainfall of 4.1 millimetres, about 12 percent of the normal of 33.2 millimetres.
Under the influence of the northeast monsoon, the weather of Hong Kong was mainly cloudy with sunny intervals in the afternoon on the first day of the month. With clouds thinning out, local weather became generally fine on 2 January and remained so till 8 January except for a few rain patches on the morning of 5 January. With plenty of sunshine, the temperature at the Observatory rose to a maximum of 23.6 degrees on the afternoons of 5 and 6 January, the highest of the month.
As a cloud band spreading over southern China, local weather became cloudier on 9 and 10 January. With the arrival of a replenishment of the northeast monsoon, it was cooler with a few rain patches on the morning of 11 January and the weather turned fine during the day. Affected by the cloud band over the coast of Guangdong, the weather of Hong Kong became mainly cloudy on 12 – 13 January. With the setting in of a fresh to strong easterly airstream, it was cloudy with rather low visibility in some areas on 14 January and the next morning. The easterly airstream moderated gradually on 15 – 16 January and there were sunny periods during the day.
Under the influence of the northeast monsoon and with a band of clouds covering southern China, the weather of Hong Kong was mainly cloudy on 17 – 18 January. There were also a few rain patches on the morning of 18 January. With the cloud band thinning out, local weather turned generally fine with cool mornings in the next two days. Under the influence of a fresh to strong easterly airstream, it was mainly cloudy with a few rain patches on 21 – 23 January. Affected by the northeast monsoon, the weather remained mainly cloudy with a few rain and mist patches on 24 January. With the prevalence of a fresh easterly airstream, the weather of Hong Kong was mainly cloudy with sunny intervals and a few rain patches on 25 – 29 January. It was also misty on 28 January. A cold front moved across the coastal areas of Guangdong on the night of 29 January. Under the influence of the associated winter monsoon, the weather of Hong Kong became cold with sunny periods on 30 January. The temperature at the Observatory dropped to a minimum of 13.2 degrees on that morning, the lowest of the month. It was cloudy and rather cool on the last day of the month.
There was no tropical cyclone over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in January 2022.
Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in the month are summarized in Tables 1.1 to 1.2. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for January are tabulated in Table 2.
With the northeast monsoon over the south China coast generally weaker than normal for most of the time in the month, January 2022 was much warmer than usual in Hong Kong. The monthly mean minimum temperature of 16.5 degrees and monthly mean temperature of 18.0 degrees were 1.9 degrees and 1.5 degrees above their corresponding normals and respectively the fourth and fifth highest on record for January. The month was also drier than usual with a total rainfall of 4.1 millimetres, about 12 percent of the normal of 33.2 millimetres.
Under the influence of the northeast monsoon, the weather of Hong Kong was mainly cloudy with sunny intervals in the afternoon on the first day of the month. With clouds thinning out, local weather became generally fine on 2 January and remained so till 8 January except for a few rain patches on the morning of 5 January. With plenty of sunshine, the temperature at the Observatory rose to a maximum of 23.6 degrees on the afternoons of 5 and 6 January, the highest of the month.
As a cloud band spreading over southern China, local weather became cloudier on 9 and 10 January. With the arrival of a replenishment of the northeast monsoon, it was cooler with a few rain patches on the morning of 11 January and the weather turned fine during the day. Affected by the cloud band over the coast of Guangdong, the weather of Hong Kong became mainly cloudy on 12 – 13 January. With the setting in of a fresh to strong easterly airstream, it was cloudy with rather low visibility in some areas on 14 January and the next morning. The easterly airstream moderated gradually on 15 – 16 January and there were sunny periods during the day.
Under the influence of the northeast monsoon and with a band of clouds covering southern China, the weather of Hong Kong was mainly cloudy on 17 – 18 January. There were also a few rain patches on the morning of 18 January. With the cloud band thinning out, local weather turned generally fine with cool mornings in the next two days. Under the influence of a fresh to strong easterly airstream, it was mainly cloudy with a few rain patches on 21 – 23 January. Affected by the northeast monsoon, the weather remained mainly cloudy with a few rain and mist patches on 24 January. With the prevalence of a fresh easterly airstream, the weather of Hong Kong was mainly cloudy with sunny intervals and a few rain patches on 25 – 29 January. It was also misty on 28 January. A cold front moved across the coastal areas of Guangdong on the night of 29 January. Under the influence of the associated winter monsoon, the weather of Hong Kong became cold with sunny periods on 30 January. The temperature at the Observatory dropped to a minimum of 13.2 degrees on that morning, the lowest of the month. It was cloudy and rather cool on the last day of the month.
There was no tropical cyclone over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in January 2022.
Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in the month are summarized in Tables 1.1 to 1.2. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for January are tabulated in Table 2.
Warnings and Signals issued in January 2022
| Colour | Beginning Time | Ending Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day/Month | HKT | Day/Month | HKT | |
| Yellow | 1 / 1 | 0600 | 2 / 1 | 1800 |
| Yellow | 9 / 1 | 1145 | 9 / 1 | 1900 |
| Yellow | 30 / 1 | 0745 | 30 / 1 | 2245 |
| Beginning Time | Ending Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Day/Month | HKT | Day/Month | HKT |
| 29 / 1 | 1620 | 5 / 2 | 0945 |
| Meteorological Element | Figure of the Month | Departure from Normal* |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Daily Maximum Air Temperature | 20.2 degrees C | 1.5 degrees above normal |
| Mean Air Temperature | 18.0 degrees C | 1.5 degrees above normal |
| Mean Daily Minimum Air Temperature | 16.5 degrees C | 1.9 degrees above normal |
| Mean Dew Point Temperature | 14.0 degrees C | 2.3 degrees above normal |
| Mean Relative Humidity | 78 % | 4 % above normal |
| Mean Cloud Amount | 67 % | 5 % above normal |
| Total Rainfall | 4.1 mm | 29.1 mm below normal |
| Number of hours of Reduced VisibilityΔ | 103 hours | 105.2 hours below normal§ |
| Total Bright Sunshine Duration | 133.7 hours | 12.1 hours below normal |
| Mean Daily Global Solar Radiation | 11.04 Megajoule / square metre | 0.49 Megajoule above normal |
| Total Evaporation | 70.3 mm | 1.2 mm above normal |
| Remarks : | All measurements were made at the Hong Kong Observatory except sunshine, solar radiation and evaporation which were recorded at King's Park Meteorological Station and visibility which was observed at the Hong Kong International Airport. |
| Δ |
The visibility readings at the Hong Kong International Airport are based on hourly observations by professional meteorological observers in 2004 and before, and average readings over the 10-minute period before the clock hour of the visibility meter near the middle of the south runway from 2005 onwards. The change of the data source in 2005 is an improvement of the visibility assessment using instrumented observations following the international trend. |
* Departure from 1991 - 2020 climatological normal, except for number of hours of reduced visibility |
|
§ Departure from mean value between 1997 and 2021 |
|
| Remarks : | Extremely high: above 95th percentile Above normal: between 75th and 95th percentile Normal: between 25th and 75th percentile Below normal: between 5th and 25th percentile Extremely low: below 5th percentile Percentile and 5-day running average values are computed based on the data from 1991 to 2020 |
