If your winter coat barely left the wardrobe this year, you were not imagining it. The Hong Kong Observatory has confirmed that the winter of 2025–26 was the warmest on record — a season so mild that the city logged just five cold days across three months. For a place that treats a 10-degree morning as a national event, this was a strange, sweater-free winter.
The numbers
According to the Observatory, the winter mean temperature reached 19.3°C — a full 2.0°C above the long-term normal, and the warmest since records began. The mean maximum temperature of 21.9°C was the highest on record for the period; the mean minimum of 17.3°C the second-highest.
February did most of the heavy lifting. The month averaged 20.1°C — some 3°C above normal and the second-warmest February the city has logged. Lunar New Year's Eve was so balmy it set a record-high overnight minimum of 22°C, the sort of temperature you associate with late spring, not a festival traditionally spent shivering over hotpot.
Winter 2025–26 by the numbers
| Measure | Figure | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| Winter mean temperature | 19.3°C (+2.0°C vs normal) | Warmest on record |
| Mean maximum | 21.9°C | Highest on record |
| Mean minimum | 17.3°C | Second highest on record |
| Cold days (≤12°C) | 5 | Third fewest on record |
| February mean | 20.1°C (+3°C vs normal) | Second warmest February |
Where did winter go?
The single most telling figure is the cold-day count. The Observatory classes a cold day as one with a minimum temperature of 12°C or below. This winter produced just five of them — the third-lowest tally ever recorded. In a typical year you would expect that several times over.
The practical upshot: the cold-weather warnings that usually punctuate January and February barely featured, and the city's brief, beloved window for down jackets and claypot-rice nights all but vanished.
Why was it so warm?
The headline cause is the one you would expect: a sustained, long-term warming trend that the Observatory has tracked for decades and that nudges every season a little higher. Layered on top this year were weaker, less frequent winter monsoon surges — the northerly pushes of cool continental air that normally deliver Hong Kong's chilliest spells simply did not arrive with their usual force or frequency.
It fits a clear pattern. Record-warm seasons have stacked up across recent years, and "the warmest on record" is a phrase the Observatory now reaches for far more often than it once did.
What it means for the city
For day-to-day life, a mild winter is a mixed blessing. The good news: alfresco season effectively never closed. Rooftop bars kept their terraces busy through January, and the hiking trails — usually at their crisp, clear best in winter — stayed comfortable, if a touch warm for a steep climb. Beach diehards found the water at the city's outlying islands warmer than any winter has a right to be.
The less comfortable truth is what a record like this signals. A 2°C anomaly across a whole season is not a rounding error; it is the kind of shift that reshapes everything from energy demand to the timing of the city's flowering trees. Enjoy the mild evenings — but it is worth clocking what they represent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Source: Hong Kong Observatory seasonal climate summary, reported by the South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Free Press.
Make the most of the mild weather
Get outside with our pick of the city's best hiking trails in Hong Kong 2026.