June was hotter and drier than usual in Hong Kong, mainly attributed to the stronger subtropical ridge covering southeastern China, the Hong Kong Observatory said today.

The monthly mean minimum temperature of 27.1 degrees Celsius was 0.6 degrees above the norm and the fifth highest on record for June.

The monthly mean maximum temperature of 31.5 degrees Celsius and the monthly mean temperature of 28.9 degrees Celsius were 0.8 and 0.6 degrees above their corresponding norms, and both were among the seventh on record for the month.

The total rainfall in the month was 237.3mm, which was about 48% of the norm. With all six months drier than usual, the accumulated rainfall in the first half this year was only 444.4mm, about 41% of the norm and the fifth lowest on record for the same period.

It was extremely hot on June 10 with the maximum temperature soaring to 35.6 degrees Celsius, levelling the record maximum for June since records began in 1884.

Three tropical cyclones occurred over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in June, the observatory added.