Since it’s winter in Hong Kong, itโs only appropriate that we trawl through the history books for a look at just how icy things can get here. The answer is โฆ not very. Sure, January has been very chilly indeed thanks to the winter monsoon that swept down from the north, bringing the uncommon sight of frost in the New Territories. But the fact of the matter is that our climate is sub-tropical, and not inclined towards freezing conditions. The official temperature in Hong Kong has never dipped below zero degrees Celsius โ at least, not since recording began in the 19th century. In fact, the record low temp at the Hong Kong Observatory is exactly 0.0. That was back in 1893.
Having said that, the Hong Kong Observatory is located on flat ground on Nathan Road in TST. HKโs higher areas, especially in the New Territories, are more prone to get into minus figures โ as the following anecdote shows!
A flashback to Sunday, 24 January 2016
A decade ago, we shivered through our coldest day since 1957, as a โpolar vortexโ swept through Hong Kong. In the city, it got down to 3.1 degrees Celsius โ low enough to close kindergartens and primary schools the following Monday. (For comparison’s sake, the minimum temperature on 30 December 2020 was 8.1 degrees.)
But that was nothing compared to Hong Kongโs hills. On Tai Mo Shan, the mercury plunged to minus 6 degrees! And, in a case of particularly bad timing, there just happened to be a long trail run taking place on that very day โฆ
โCarnageโ is how race participants labelled the Vibram Hong Kong 100 trail run of 2016. Only half the field finished. One competitor described conditions as the worst heโd faced in 15 years of running. And getting people off the mountain and away from the dangers of hypothermia was tricky because roads were blocked by โfrost chasersโ โ regular Hongkongers hoping to hunt down some rare ice and snow.
Hereโs hoping this winter in Hong Kong doesn’t get like that!
Like this? See more in our Living in Hong Kong section.
This article first appeared in Expat Living magazine. Subscribe now so you never miss an issue!
