After an “unseasonably warm” February, the Hong Kong Observatory confirms this winter as the warmest on record.
“Together with the well-above-normal temperatures in December 2025 and warmer-than-usual weather in January 2026, Hong Kong experienced the warmest winter on record from December 2025 to February 2026 with the winter mean temperature reaching 19.3 degrees, 2.0 degrees above the normal,” the observatory said in a statement on Tuesday. Record keeping began in Hong Kong in 1884.
This winter, Hong Kong recorded only five “cold days” – days with a minimum temperature of 12°C or below – the third lowest on record.
February proved “unseasonably warm,” coming in as the second warmest on record with a mean temperature of 20.1°C, 3 degrees above the normal. The Lunar New Year (also called Spring Festival), hit a record-high minimum temperature of 22°C this year, during celebrations that took place from 15 to 23 February.
[See more: Macao sets a new record for the earliest reading of a hot temperature]
Last year saw Hong Kong break 20 weather and temperature records, including the highest absolute maximum temperature for June (35.6°C), the highest total daily rainfall for August (398.9 mm), and the highest monthly mean temperature for October (25.6°C). All 12 months came in hotter than average, helping make 2025 the sixth-warmest year on record.
The year was also marked by record-low humidity measurements, including the lowest absolute minimum relative humidity for April (21%), the lowest seasonal mean relative humidity for spring (75%), and the absolute minimum relative humidity for November (16%). Overall, mean relative humidity for 2025 matched the lowest on record, set in 1963.
Drying trends are impacting several eastern coastal and interior cities in China, according to a 2025 report commissioned by NGO WaterAid, but Hong Kong stands out as not only drying but also experiencing a flip in climate hazards to more extreme dry conditions. Flipping from an extremely wet climate to a dry one – or vice versa – has significant implications for residents and the city’s ability to adapt to climate change.
Hong Kong has already warmed by 1.7°C since the Industrial Revolution, according to climate NGO Berkeley Earth. It is projected to hit 3.4°C of warming by 2100.
