Hong Kong breaks all-time temperature record with 39.8°C as Typhoon Dolphin drives extreme heat
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Hong Kong breaks all-time temperature record with 39.8°C as Typhoon Dolphin drives extreme heat")
People use umbrellas to shelter from the rain on the Bund a day after Typhoon Dolphin made landfall in Shanghai on August 10, 2026 Photograph: (AFP)
Hong Kong recorded a record 39.8°C as Typhoon Dolphin's outer circulation brought extreme heat, prompting a very hot weather warning.
Hong Kong recorded its highest-ever temperature at 39.8°C (103.6°F) on Sunday, August 9, as Tropical Cyclone Dolphin moved across eastern China. It was the highest temperature since records began in 1884, the Hong Kong Observatory said in the afternoon. It broke the previous record of 36.6°C on 22 August 2017, before Typhoon Hato hit. The temperature hit 39.3°C in Sheung Shui, Wong Tai Sin recorded 38°C, and at least seven other districts exceeded 37°C on Monday, August 10.
While 39.8°C is not high for an arid desert region. It is dangerously high for coastal subtropical city like Hong Kong which has high high humdity and creates situations of urban heat island due to its dense population packed in high-rise concrete skyscrapers, asphalt roads, and thousands of air conditioning. The observatory has issued a “very hot weather warning” on Sunday, advising citizens to drink water and avoid outdoor activities.
The temperatures are expected to reach extreme levels in the next two days. It is driven by the outer subsiding air of Severe Typhoon Dolphin, as it is pulling a thick blanket of compressed warm air directly over southern China. “With Tropical Cyclone Dolphin moving towards the vicinity of Zhejiang and moving inland, its outer subsiding air will persistently bring extremely hot weather to the territory today to Tuesday,” said a weather station in Sheung Shui, which recorded 39.8°C on Sunday.
Typhoon Dolphin will not reach Hong Kong. The storm's core made landfall roughly 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) northeast of Hong Kong in Zhejiang province, and its tracking path continues to move west-northwestward further inland into eastern and central China. While Dolphin made landfall in Zhejiang on Sunday, senior scientific officer Cheung Ping stated its broad outer circulation will continue to affect the Guangdong coast.
Meteorologists point out that the current strong El Niño conditions in the Western Pacific are injecting unusual amounts of thermal energy into the ocean, resulting in massive, ultra-large tropical cyclones like Dolphin that radically alter regional microclimates.
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