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Is Hong Kong Sunny or Gloomy (or both)?

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  1. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by Expatriate:
    January to February is cold (5)
    Rubbish. The average nighttime minimum is about 14 degrees, and the average daytime maximum about 18-19 degrees.

    All the climate info you could want, here: http://www.hko.gov.hk/cis/normal_e.htm

  2. #22

    Hi everyone!

    Well, it ssems that an argument has taken over the real issu of this thread. Let's get back to the topic. The sources are indeed a ethical issue, but I guess Gilles just wanted to help answering the original question with a little more precision than the others, and doing some online research.

    I still have a question though, do you think that what is termed "gloomy" depends only on objective facts? Or is it rather related to personal experience (e.g. having lived in London or California makes it different)?

    I come from Switzerland, where the air is far purer than in Hong kong, but never would have I thought of using the word "gloomy" to describe the weather in hong kong. If it's warm, it doesn't seem to me it could be gloomy like maybe Norway or Iceland may be.


  3. #23

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    Does this look familiar? Would you not consider this 'gloomy'? This could be mist rather than haze but there are certainly a fair share of them in HK.

    If you talk to many people whom have been here 10 years they will mention alot more of these days now than in the past from pollution from the mainland and HK.

    Also there was another report in the paper that outlined that the number of days of roadside pollution has risen dramatically. here is another story of only a few days ago. Hong Kong posts record roadside pollution levels - Yahoo! News


  4. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by PDLM:
    Rubbish. The average nighttime minimum is about 14 degrees, and the average daytime maximum about 18-19 degrees.

    All the climate info you could want, here: Climatological Normals and Extremes
    It does get a bit chilly from about now till the end of Feb, certainly worthy of turning a heater on. I think the OP meant how cold does it get here, which the honest reply would have been a tad under 8 degrees C during the coldest evenings/mornings.

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    Check out the HK observatory website after midnight tonight, and I bet most temps will be between 7 - 9 degrees all over the territory, like they have been the last few nights/ early mornings.
    Last edited by Skyhook; 07-01-2011 at 07:09 PM.

  5. #25

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    unless you live out by me... it gets a few degrees colder than that...but inside it feels colder than outside. we've had indoor heaters running pretty much non-stop for a week.


  6. #26

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    Never owned or used a heater in HK in well over 10 years...


  7. #27

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    it probably gets down to abou 4C inside our house on a regular basis. even on the warmer days, we get no direct sunlight, so our house doesn't warm up...too bad it doesn't remain cool in the midst of summer!


  8. #28

    Pleasantly surprised

    OP here. Pleasantly surprised to see additional replies on this thread so I am adding some further thoughts now that I've spent another two weeks in Hong Kong (the last week of November and the first week of December).

    On my trip I noticed that the central area of HK Island was routinely cloudier than many other parts of HK. When I wanted the sun, I could usually find it by jumping on a ferry or a bus and heading somewhere else (Macau, Lamma Island (where I did the absolutely lovely hike along the spine of the island in bright sunshine, enjoying the views), Cheung Chau, Stanley, etc. were all sunnier than HK on the days i visited). I don't know why this was, but part of it seemed to be humidity around the low mountains in the center of HK Island, which led to clouds obscuring the sunlight reaching the streets of Central. Undoubtedly part of it was pollution as the further I got from the congestion of Central, often the clearer it seemed to get (particularly earlier in the day). perhaps i was just lucky that the prevailing winds weren't driving pollution from the mainland as much on my visit. certainly there were a few days when a blanket of mist seemed to settle over the entire area, including the out islands, obscuring views in all directions regardles of my best efforts to find the sun. in the early evenings, the same mist sometimes seemed to roll back in, enveloping the area around HK island. maybe this was an inversion layer, but I am no scientist and these are purely anecdotal observations.

    Given avg lows cited above, seems to me that the winter low temps are comparable to the west side of Los Angeles, CA (e.g., Beverly Hills, etc.). that works for me as LA has very pleasant winter weather. the summers there are too cold for me though; I actually would prefer the tropical style weather of HK in summer. i rarely find it too hot, but often find it too cold. Carang--5 degrees is much, much too cold for me! don't know you do it; i'd be running that heater all the time!

    so to answer my own question for this visit at least (albeit at a dry time of year), HK didn't seem gloomy to me. when i wanted sun, i could find it. and even on the most misty, hazy days, there was still some filtered sunshine. as a result, i once again had a terrific time there, which seems to be becoming habit-forming.

    anyway, thanks again to everyone for the comments and insights.

    regards,
    hopeful

    ps--Nochristie, I spent 10 days in Switzerland last summer practicing my Deutsch and would have to call the weather for 7 of those days truly gloomy in Luzern and the Berner Oberland. Cold, wet, low clouds, no sun. on the other hand, the 3 clear days I spent hiking were 3 of the most beautiful days i have ever seen. so one takes what one can get and it is a wonderful country regardless.


  9. #29

    Hi Hopeful,

    I agree, Switzerland can be really gloomy in the German speaking part, haha!!


  10. #30

    It is funny, your initial question was "is hk sunny or gloomy (or both)?" and it finally seems that your answer is neither of them! It seems that there is no "objective" gloominess, and therefore people can relate this word to their own experience.

    In the same way when I feel bad and tired, the city around looks uglier, and even a bad rainy day might feel wonderful if I'm just feeling good at the moment. What I mean is that maybe, because you wanted to see Hong Kong as "not gloomy" it became hazy or misty (in your terms).

    What do you think?