July this year was the hottest month in Hong Kong since records began in 1884, the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) said today.

In July, the monthly mean temperature of 30.3 degrees Celsius was 1.4 degrees Celsius above normal and was the highest of the correspondingly monthly mean values on record.

Moreover, the monthly mean maximum temperature of 33.3 degrees Celsius was 1.7 degrees Celsius above normal and one of the highest on record.

There were 10 days with daily maximum temperatures that were equal to or higher than 35 degrees Celsius, the highest number in a month on record and also breaking the record for a whole year.

With 25 hot nights in total, July 2022 was the month with the highest number of hot nights on record. Moreover, there were 21 very hot days in the month, the highest number in a month on record.

July was also much drier than usual. The total monthly rainfall was only 158.5 mm, about 41% of the normal figure of 385.8 millimetres. The accumulated rainfall for the first seven months of the year was 1,213 mm, about 17% below the normal figure.

With the approach of Severe Tropical Storm Chaba, local winds strengthened significantly on July 1, the HKO issued the first No. 8 Gale or Storm Signal in this year, which was also the first such issuance on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day.

Under the rain, the temperature fell to the month's lowest of 25.4 degrees Celsius on July 1.

With plenty of sunshine, the maximum temperature reached 34.9 degrees Celsius on July 23, the hottest Great Heat on record.

There were thundery showers over the city on July 30. During the inclement weather in that morning, a person died after being struck by lightning while hiking in Sha Tin.