2nd September 2026 – (Hong Kong) Hong Kong experienced markedly hotter than usual conditions in August 2026, driven by warmer‑than‑normal sea surface temperatures over the northern South China Sea, a persistent south‑westerly flow along the southern China coast and subsiding air on the periphery of Tropical Cyclone Dolphin. The Hong Kong Observatory reported a monthly mean temperature of 29.5 degrees, a mean minimum of 27.6 degrees and a mean maximum of 32.1 degrees, exceeding their respective normals by 0.8 degrees, 0.9 degrees and 0.8 degrees. These ranked among the third, fourth and eighth highest August readings on record. The city saw nine consecutive very hot days from 5th to 13th August, one of the longest such August runs on record, including three consecutive extremely hot days from 9th to 11th August, the highest and longest August sequence of its kind.
A series of notable extremes punctuated the month. On the afternoon of 9th August, the temperature at the Observatory hit an all‑time high of 36.9 degrees, while Sheung Shui recorded 39.8 degrees, the highest since the introduction of automatic weather stations in the 1980s. The daily minimum at the Observatory reached 30.2 degrees on the morning of 12th August, the highest daily minimum on record. Taken together, the summer period from June to August was slightly hotter than usual, with a mean temperature of 28.9 degrees, 0.2 degrees above the seasonal normal.
Rainfall totals were uneven. August registered 380.0 millimetres, about sixteen per cent below the normal 453.2 millimetres. By contrast, cumulative rainfall for the first eight months reached 2,357.6 millimetres, roughly twenty‑three per cent above the January‑to‑August normal of 1,921.5 millimetres. Weather in early August was shaped by a broad trough of low pressure lingering from late July, bringing mainly cloudy skies and heavy showers on the first three days, with more than 100 millimetres over most districts and over 200 millimetres in parts of eastern Hong Kong Island and the New Territories East. The mercury dipped to the month’s minimum of 25.0 degrees on 3rd August. Unusually for the peak hot season, maximum temperatures remained below 30.0 degrees for nine consecutive days from 26th July to 3rd August, a rarity last seen in August 1937. Conditions brightened as the trough weakened on 4th August, turning very hot from 5th August as winds slackened.
From 5th to 11th August, subsiding air associated with Tropical Cyclone Dolphin and a following south‑westerly airstream delivered fine, very hot weather, culminating in the extreme temperatures noted on 9th to 11th August. Upper‑air disturbances and a south‑westerly flow then brought mainly cloudy skies, showers and squally thunderstorms on 14th August and the morning of 15th August, when many areas saw more than 40 millimetres of rain and the Southern District exceeded 100 millimetres. After a brief return to very hot weather on 16th August, heat‑triggered thunderstorms on 17th August produced over 30 millimetres in places.
Another broad trough influenced the coast of Guangdong and the northern South China Sea from 18th to 24th August. Locally, stronger night‑time easterlies on 18th and 19th August reflected the combined effect of a nearby low‑pressure area and a ridge over south‑eastern China. Conditions were mainly cloudy with a few showers and sunny intervals, with heavier falls on 20th August of around 10 millimetres generally and over 40 millimetres on Hong Kong Island and parts of Kowloon; isolated thunderstorms followed on 21st and 22nd August. The low pressure within the trough intensified over Beibu Wan on 20th August and was named Narra. Narra meandered near Beibu Wan for several days, crossed the Leizhou Peninsula and made landfall near Wuchuan on 26th August before weakening to a low.
Between 25th and 27th August, an active southerly airstream and a subsequent trough produced cloudy weather with occasional showers and squally thunderstorms. Many locations recorded more than 80 millimetres over the three days, with over 200 millimetres in the eastern New Territories, prompting the Red Rainstorm Warning on the morning of 27th August. A man found unconscious on a sampan near the Tseung Kwan O Cross Bay Link later died in hospital, with initial indications of a lightning strike. As the airstream moderated, 28th and 29th August brought sunny periods and heat alongside a few showers and thunderstorms; about 70 millimetres fell over Tai Po and Lau Fau Shan during the small hours of 28th August. Showers intensified again on 30th and 31st August under a dominant trough, with heavy bursts and a few squally thunderstorms; many places saw around 30 millimetres on 31st August, and more than 50 millimetres were logged over Kowloon and parts of the western New Territories.
Tropical Cyclone Saudel made landfall in Zhejiang on 28th August, then traversed eastern and central China, weakening to low pressure over southern China. Its remnants tracked south across the Leizhou Peninsula and Hainan Island on 31st August and re‑intensified into a tropical depression over waters off south‑eastern Hainan that evening. The Hong Kong Observatory subsequently issued the Standby Signal No. 1. In total, thirteen tropical cyclones occurred over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific during August 2026.