Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) Director Chan Pak-wai today said he expects four to seven tropical cyclones to hit Hong Kong this year.

Presenting the city's weather outlook at a press briefing this afternoon, Mr Chan also said the annual mean temperature for the year is expected to be higher than normal, with a high chance of reaching the warmest top 10 on record.

“We look at the long-term trend. Basically, the temperature is rising and also, the number of very hot days is going to rise.

“It is still too early to compare (from) year to year, whether, for example, this year the number of hot days or very hot days is going to be higher than previous years, but we can conclude that it is going to be among the top 10 years with the highest temperature. But then the actual number of very hot days is still going to vary (from) year to year.”

Reviewing last year’s weather, Mr Chan noted that 2022 was one of the sixth warmest years for Hong Kong since records began in 1884.

Hong Kong experienced the warmest autumn in 2022, with a mean temperature of 26.4 degrees Celsius recorded for September to November that year.

There were 52 hot nights and 52 very hot days in 2022, both ranking the second highest on record.

Mr Chan said the HKO will strengthen the very hot weather warning service by introducing new special weather tips, to remind the public of extremely high temperatures and the corresponding precautionary measures.

The observatory also enhanced its regional weather information services this month by providing real-time relative humidity information from seven automatic weather stations.

It also plans to resume the face-to-face public course on weather observation at the end of this year.

To tie in with the Greater Bay Area’s development, the HKO is working closely with the Environmental Protection Department to prepare for setting up a bay area air quality laboratory and meteorology monitoring supersite in Hong Kong.

The Backup South China Sea Tsunami Advisory Center (Hong Kong), housed in the HKO central forecasting office, will start operation on March 29.

A dedicated webpage was launched today to celebrate the HKO’s 140th anniversary. An open day will be held this weekend and a commemoration book will be published later this year, Mr Chan added.