The hottest June Hong Kong has seen since records began in 1884 is “undeniable” proof of global warming, an Observatory spokesman said today.
The mean temperature for the month, 29.7 degrees Celsius, was 1.8 degrees higher than the June average.
Observatory scientific officer Tsoi Tze-shun told RTHK’s Hong Kong Today on Friday morning that the “obvious” and “undeniable” overall upward trend in temperatures shows that “global warming, in fact, has played a part.”
The number of “very hot” days and nights, when temperatures over most parts of the territory exceed 33 degrees, also set a new record high in June with ten and 13 respectively. The hottest days of the month, 18 and 19 June, both reached 34.2 degrees.
No very hot days or nights were observed in June 1884, when the Hong Kong Observatory first began recording temperatures from Observatory Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
Hong Kong continued to swelter today, as the Mercury once again climbed to 33C. Observatory forecasters have predicted another scorching weekend, with showers developing early next week.
Meanwhile Tropical Storm Linfa is currently heading towards the Philippines after being upgraded from a tropical depression.
This afternoon the storm was 570 kilometres east of Manila, moving west-northwest at 14km/h. Observatory forecasters said it would continue to intensify and predicted it would change direction and head towards Taiwan.
