The warmest October
Mainly attributable to the weaker northeast monsoon over southern China, October 2024 was much warmer than usual in Hong Kong. The monthly mean maximum temperature of 30.3 degrees, monthly mean temperature of 27.3 degrees and monthly mean minimum temperature of 25.4 degrees were 2.2 degrees, 1.6 degrees and 1.5 degrees respectively above their corresponding normals and all of them were the highest on record for October. There were three very hot days in the month, one of the highest on record for October. The month was also much drier than usual with a total rainfall of 11.3 millimetres, only about 9 per cent of the normal figure of 120.3 millimetres. The accumulated rainfall this year up to October was 2 115.6 millimetres, about 10 per cent lower than the normal figure of 2 363.1 millimetres for the same period.
Super Typhoon Krathon over the northeastern part of the South China Sea moved slowly towards the southern part of Taiwan on October 1 and 2. It weakened into a typhoon and made landfall over the coast of Gaoxiong on the afternoon of October 3. Krathon rapidly weakened into an area of low pressure over the southern part of Taiwan the next morning. Under the influence of the outer subsiding air of Krathon, it was mainly fine and very hot in Hong Kong on the first day of the month. The temperatures at the Observatory soared to a maximum of 34.2 degrees on that afternoon, the highest of the month and also the third-highest absolute maximum temperature for October. Moreover, the daily mean temperature of 30.9 degrees on the same day was the highest on record for October.
Meanwhile, a strong northeast monsoon gradually affected the coast of Guangdong on October 1, and local winds strengthened from the north in the afternoon. Under the influence of the monsoon, it was slightly cooler in the morning of October 2 and 3, and the weather was mainly fine and dry during the day. The weather remained mainly fine and dry during the day from October 4 to 8. With a band of clouds covering the coastal areas of Guangdong, the weather turned cloudier with a few light rain patches on October 9. While it was dry with sunny periods during the day on October 10, an easterly airstream set in at night and brought rainy weather to Hong Kong that night and the next morning. The rain was heavier on the morning of October 11, and more than 20 millimetres of rainfall were recorded over the eastern part of the territory. The weather turned dry with sunny intervals in the afternoon.
Under the influence of a dry easterly airstream, apart from a few rain patches on the morning of October 12, the weather was mainly fine and dry during the day from October 12 to 15. Affected by upper-air disturbances, the weather turned cloudier with a few showers from October 16 to 18. It was mainly fine with some haze on October 19. With light winds and plenty of sunshine, the maximum temperature recorded at the Observatory in the afternoon was 33.7 degrees, making it the latest very hot day of a year on record. Affected by an easterly airstream, there were a few light rain patches in the morning and sunny intervals during the day on October 20 and 21. With the moderation of the easterly airstream, the weather turned mainly fine and dry on October 22.
Meanwhile, an area of low pressure over the seas east of the Philippines intensified into a tropical depression on October 21 and was later named Trami. It tracked northwestwards towards Luzon and intensified gradually on October 22 and 23. After moving across Luzon, Trami moved generally westwards across the central and northern parts of the South China Sea on October 25 and 26. It made landfall over the central part of Vietnam on the morning of October 27 and progressively weakened into an area of low pressure over the inland areas the next day.
Under the influence of a dry northeast monsoon, it was mainly fine and dry on October 23. With the strengthening of the monsoon, it was slightly cooler the next morning and the temperatures at the Observatory dropped to a minimum of 22.0 degrees, the lowest of the month. The weather was mainly fine and very dry during the day with the relative humidity over most parts of the territory once falling to about 30 per cent. While it was still mainly fine during the day on October 25, the weather turned cloudy at night with the approach of Trami. Under the combined effect of the northeast monsoon and Trami, the weather of Hong Kong was mainly cloudy with a few showers on October 26. Strong winds were also recorded over many places of the territory on that day. With Trami departing from Hong Kong, local winds moderated gradually at night and the next morning. With a band of clouds covering the coast of Guangdong, the weather remained mainly cloudy with a few light rain patches in the morning from October 27 to 29. Affected by a dry northeast monsoon, the weather turned fine and dry on the last two days of the month.
Five tropical cyclones occurred over the South China Sea and the western North Pacific in October 2024.
Details of issuance and cancellation of various warnings/signals in the month are summarised in Table 1. Monthly meteorological figures and departures from normal for October are tabulated in Table 2.
HKSAR Government strongly condemns BBC for unfounded report on Lai Chee-ying's health condition
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government yesterday (January 1) strongly condemned the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for the deliberate unfounded report on Lai Chee-ying's health condition in an attempt to fabricate facts to mislead the public by intentionally portraying Lai Chee-ying as a victim, with the aim of covering up his numerous wrongdoings and his conviction by the court.
Court's conviction verdict was entirely free from any political considerations
A spokesperson for the HKSAR Government said, "The court's reasons for verdict in Lai Chee-ying's case are 855 pages long, which are fully open for public inspection, and include the court's analysis of the relevant legal principles and evidence, as well as the reasons for convicting Lai Chee-ying and the three defendant companies in full detail. The court clearly pointed out in the reasons for verdict that Lai Chee-ying was not on trial for his political views or beliefs. The court's conviction verdict is well-founded and reasoned, fully demonstrating that the court has made its decision on the case strictly in accordance with the law and evidence, free from any interference, and absolutely free of any political considerations.
"The court clearly pointed out that Lai Chee-ying's only intent, whether pre or post Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL), was to seek the downfall of the Communist Party of China, even though the ultimate cost was the sacrifice of the interests of the people of the People's Republic of China and the HKSAR. Also, the court found that Lai Chee-ying was the mastermind of the conspiracies charged in all three counts, and his actions show his deliberate intent to pursue these conspiracies, which constituted a threat and harm to the national security in the PRC and the HKSAR."
The spokesperson stressed, "Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law and has always adhered to the principle that laws must be obeyed and lawbreakers be held accountable. Article 5 of the HKNSL and section 2 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance clearly stipulate that the principle of the rule of law shall be adhered to in preventing, suppressing and imposing punishment for offences endangering national security. Any suggestion that certain individuals or organisations should be immune from legal consequences for their illegal acts is no different from advocating a special privilege to break the law, and this totally runs contrary to the spirit of the rule of law."
Lai Chee-ying's health has been properly cared for
The spokesperson said, "The claims regarding Lai Chee-ying's health condition as reported by the BBC are false and extremely misleading. The HKSAR Government has pointed out time and again that the Correctional Services Department (CSD) handles the custodial arrangements for Lai Chee-ying in the same way as other persons-in-custody (PICs). The CSD attaches great importance to the safety and health of PICs. Regardless of the identities, ages and nationalities of PICs, the CSD is committed to ensuring that the custodial environment is secure, safe, humane, appropriate and healthy, which includes appropriate and timely medical support.
"The medical services received by Lai Chee-ying in custody are adequate and comprehensive. All correctional institutions have hospitals or sick bays staffed 24 hours a day by Medical Officers seconded from the Department of Health (DH) and correctional staff with professional nursing qualifications. Medical specialists from the Hospital Authority (HA) and the DH will visit correctional institutions on a regular basis to provide PICs with specialist consultation and treatment, including dental treatment. If PICs have dental health issues, the Medical Officer of the institution will refer them to dental specialists. In serious cases, PICs will be transferred immediately to a public hospital for treatment.
"During the public court hearing in August 2025, the senior counsel representing Lai Chee-ying clearly presented to the court that Lai Chee-ying had all along been receiving appropriate treatment and care in prison. The correctional institutions had been arranging daily medical checkups for Lai Chee-ying and that there had been no complaints at all regarding the medical services he was receiving, and the Court also commended the CSD. Moreover, on the day the court handed down its verdict on December 15, 2025, the senior counsel representing Lai Chee-ying stated, when responding to questions from the media, that everyone in the court could see clearly Lai Chee-ying's health condition.
"The CSD provided dental treatment for Lai Chee-ying in 2021 and 2022 based on his needs. Since then, Lai Chee-ying has had no dental health problems nor made any further requests for dental treatment. Separately, in 2025, Lai Chee-ying notified the CSD of problems with his nails, but he has since fully recovered after treatment with ointment prescribed by the Medical Officer of the institution, with no nail loss as alleged in the media reports. In August 2025, before the public hearing, the CSD arranged for Lai Chee-ying to wear a cardiac monitoring device and prescribed heart medication for his claimed heart palpitations, to be used as needed. Since then and up till the present moment, Lai Chee-ying has made no further complaints about his heart palpitations to the CSD. It must be stressed that the allegations made by Lai Chee-ying's daughter and relevant media reports, including those by the BBC, are completely baseless."
The spokesperson pointed out, "Certain individuals with ulterior motives, including Lai Chee-ying's family members and certain media, have ignored these facts and continue to spread lies and engage in despicable acts. Recently, Lai Chee-ying's daughter has repeatedly attempted to maliciously smear the HKSAR Government and the CSD, misleading the public to believing that Lai Chee-ying's detention and medical arrangements are poor. Their malicious intentions are obvious. The HKSAR Government strongly opposes and condemns such acts."
Source: AI-found images
