Bundling up: People wear mufflers and coats as the temperature dips.

December 2005 was drier than normal with only 9.5mm of rainfall, the Hong Kong Observatory says. The minimum temperature dropped to 10.4 degrees Celsius on December 22, the lowest so far this winter. 

The month recorded a mean air temperature of 17 degrees Celsius and mean relative humidity of 64%, 0.6 degrees Celsius and 4% below normal. The number of hours of reduced visibility was 344 hours - 126.4 hours above normal. The total bright sunshine was 179.7 hours, 1.8 hours less than normal.

It was fine but hazy in the first three days of December. As a cold front moved across the south China coast in the early morning of December 4, the visibility improved, and the weather turned cloudy, cold and dry in the ensuing three days. The first cold weather warning was issued on December 5.

With the moderation of the northeast monsoon, there were sunny periods on December 8 and the weather was mild over the next three days. A surge of the winter monsoon reached Hong Kong again on the early morning of December 12, bringing cool weather to the city.

Mid-December cold, dry

The temperature and relative humidity dropped further on December 15 when the winter monsoon strengthened. It was cold and dry in the next four days. The weather warmed up briefly on December 20, but turned cold and windy again on December 21 when an intense surge of the winter monsoon arrived at southern China. Three people in Sham Tseng were hurt as they fell in strong winds that morning.

The weather stayed cold and dry on December 22 and 23. Frost was reported at the Sha Tin Racecourse in the morning of December 23.

The temperature rose gradually on December 24 as the winter monsoon weakened. It was mainly fine over the next three days. A cloud band associated with an area of low pressure over the South China Sea brought cloudy weather and some rain to the territory between December 28 and 30. It was mainly fine on the last day of the year.

Only one tropical cyclone occurred in the western North Pacific and the South China Sea in the month.