The climate of Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a warm sea climate (type Cwa according to the
Köppen-Geiger climate classification). Many other sources describe
this type of climate as a subtropical climate. The climate of Hong
Kong is characterized by warm and relatively dry winters and
tropically warm summers with both high precipitation figures and high
humidity figures. The coldest month has an average 24 hour temperature
below 18 degrees Celsius; this is why the climate cannot be referred
to as tropical (type A-climate).
Temperature and sunshine
Hong Kong has an average maximum temperature of 25.6 degrees Celsius
and an average minimum temperature of 21.1 degrees Celsius; recorded
over the entire year. January is the coldest month with temperatures
between 14.1 and 18.6 degrees Celsius on average. July is the warmest
month with temperatures between 26.7 and 31.3 degrees Celsius on
average. July is also the sunniest month with 214.9 hours of sunshine
(more than 7 hours of sunshine per day). February and March are the
darkest months with fewer than 100 hours of sunshine per month. Hong
Kong gets 1,843 hours of sunshine per year.
Cyclones and storms
From April there is a risk of cyclones (hurricanes), tropical storms
and depressions. Hong Kong gets hit by storms with heavy rainfall a
few times per year on average. The inconvenience caused by these
storms depends on the number of cyclones and the path they follow.
Hong Kong may get hit fully by a cyclone one time while the next time
a storm may pass at several hundreds of kilometers limiting the
inconvenience to a lot of rain and wind.
From March till August/September humidity figures are relatively high.
This is caused by the wet season in combination with tropical
temperatures. May is the muggiest month with a humidity figure of 84%.
After this month humidity figures decrease to 69% in December.
During this period the number of rainy days is not only higher than
during the winter; rainfall is much heavier and lasts longer as well.
Chances of a shower during the summer are reasonably high. You should
take this into account when packing for a trip to Hong Kong. Hong Kong
gets almost 2,400 millimeters of rain per year; this makes Hong Kong a
relatively wet destination. Most of the rain falls from April till
October. August is the wettest month by far with 444 millimeters of
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate
records. They are an average for Hong Kong:
Please, note that local deviations may occur.
More climate information
Climate tables are useful but they don’t give an overall picture of
the climate and possible weather conditions during a period of time.
How high the chances are of hot or cold weather or hurricanes can
often not be found in these tables. This is why we offer extra climate
information per month.
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.