Winter’s knocking? Cold front to slash Hong Kong temperatures to 16 degrees

Temperatures in Hong Kong are forecast to plunge to as low as 16 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, a further drop from an earlier prediction, as a cold front is expected to hit the city early this week.

The Hong Kong Observatory on Sunday revised its forecast for the coming week, saying it expected an intense northeast monsoon to bring cool, very dry weather to the city. An earlier forecast had put this week’s lowest temperature at 18 degrees.

“A cold front will move across the coast of Guangdong at first tomorrow. Under the influence of the associated intense northeast monsoon, winds will strengthen from the north and temperatures will fall appreciably over the region,” the forecaster said.

“The weather will be generally fine and very dry over Guangdong midweek this week. It will be cool in the morning. The temperature difference between day and night will be rather large.”

According to the Observatory’s nine-day forecast, Hong Kong’s temperatures will range between 19 and 26 degrees on Monday, before falling to between 16 and 23 degrees on Tuesday.

The New Territories are expected to be cooler, with temperatures in Ta Kwu Ling dropping to as low as 13 degrees. Sheung Shui, Shek Kong, Lau Fau Shan and Tseung Kwan O could see temperatures of around 14 degrees on Tuesday morning.

In urban areas, the lowest temperatures are forecast to be around 15 to 16 degrees.

The weather is expected to get warmer as the monsoon moderates later in the week, with minimum temperatures gradually climbing to around 24 and 25 degrees by next weekend.

Rainy weather associated with upper-air disturbances is also expected across southern China over the coming weekend.

Dr Mike Kwan Yat-wah, former president of the Asian Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases, earlier urged parents to arrange influenza vaccinations for their children ahead of the temperature drop, warning of a possible “double whammy” from overlapping summer and winter flu seasons.

He said viruses including influenza and Covid-19 tend to be more active in colder weather and can spread more easily, adding that simultaneous infection with different viruses could lead to more serious illness.