The Hong Kong Observatory today said with 11 months warmer than usual, 2021 was the warmest year on record in Hong Kong.

The annual mean temperature of 24.6 degrees Celsius was 1.1 degrees above the 1991-2020 normal.

The annual mean maximum temperature of 27.5 degrees Celsius and the annual mean minimum temperature of 22.6 degrees Celsius were also the highest on record.

The monthly mean temperatures of 22 degrees Celsius in March, 29 degrees Celsius in May and 29.7 degrees Celsius in September were record highs.

The highest temperature in 2021 was 36.1 degrees on May 23, the joint third highest on record. There were 61 hot nights and 54 very hot days in the year - both the highest on record.

The lowest temperature recorded last year was 7.7 degrees Celsius on January 8. The number of cold days in the year was 13 days, which is 2.2 days less than the normal.

The annual total rainfall in 2021 was 2,307.1mm which is about 5% below the normal of 2,431.2mm, with six red rainstorm warnings and two black rainstorm warnings issued in the year.

There were 41 days with thunderstorms last year, one day less than the normal.

A total of 27 tropical cyclones occurred over the western North Pacific and the South China Sea in 2021, less than the long-term average of about 30.

Typhoon Signals No. 8 were issued during the passages of Lionrock and Kompasu in October.