Hong Kong sees warm Lunar New Year’s Eve as minimum temperature breaks record

2026-02-16 - 03:28

Hong Kong is seeing a warm Lunar New Year’s Eve, with the weather service logging a record-high minimum temperature of 22 degrees Celsius for the last day of the Chinese calendar year. A woman at a Lunar New Year Fair in Causeway Bay’s Victoria Park, in Hong Kong. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The Observatory is forecasting a high of 28 degrees Celsius on Monday, Lunar New Year’s Eve, following a record-equalling 26.9 degrees Celsius on Sunday – the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, a day traditionally set aside for “year-end cleaning.” In 2010, the maximum temperature on the 28th day of the last lunar month in the Chinese calendar also reached 26.9 degrees. “Winds are weak over Guangdong. Locally, temperatures this morning were one to two degrees higher than those of yesterday,” the Observatory said in its forecast. “Up to 9:30 a.m., the minimum temperature recorded at the Observatory was 22.0 degrees, the highest temperature on record for Lunar New Year’s Eve.” The Observatory is predicting sunny periods on Monday, with one or two showers at night. The Hong Kong Observatory’s weather forecast on February 16, 2026. Photo: Screenshot, via HKO. Meanwhile, a fresh to strong northeast monsoon will reach the city between Monday night and the early hours of Tuesday, the weather service said. The maximum temperature for the first three days of the Lunar New Year is expected to remain at 22 degrees Celsius, according to the Observatory. It will be cool in the morning on the second and third days of the holiday, the Observatory said, adding that the weather will become warmer over the weekend. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that the intensity and frequency of heatwaves have continued to increase since the 1950s due to human-caused climate change. The prevalence of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide – which trap heat in the atmosphere – raises the planet’s surface temperature, with hotter, longer heatwaves putting lives at risk. See also: How extreme heat became the deadliest silent killer among world weather disasters Hong Kong has already warmed by 1.7 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, research NGO Berkeley Earth says. Heat and humidity may reach lethal levels for protracted periods by the end of the century, according to a 2023 study, making it impossible to stay outdoors in some parts of the world.