The Hong Kong Observatory Thursday said 2015 was the warmest year in Hong Kong on record with an annual mean temperature of 24.2 degrees Celsius.
According to a press release from the observatory, the annual mean temperature was 0.9 degrees above the normal figure for 1981-2010, and 1.2 degrees above the normal figure for 1961-1990.
The observatory said the mean temperatures for June, November, the summer months and the autumn months in 2015 all saw new highs since records began in 1884.
There were 28 Very Hot Days with daily maximum temperatures of 33 degrees or higher, ranking the fifth highest, and 37 Hot Nights with minimum temperatures of 28 degrees or higher, the highest on record.
The number of Cold Days with daily minimum temperatures of 12 degrees or lower in 2015 was seven, 10 days below the normal figure for 1981-2010 and one of the lowest on record.
"The year 2015 was drier than normal in Hong Kong. The annual total rainfall was 1,874.5 millimeters, a deficit of 22 percent compared to the 1981-2010 normal,"the observatory said.
According to the World Meteorological Organization's preliminary assessment, 2015 is likely to be the warmest year globally since records began in 1850.
