Hong Kong issued 51 rainstorm signals for 2025 so far, beating whole-year record

Hong Kong has issued 51 rainstorm warnings so far this year, including four top-tier signals, surpassing a record held for the entirety of 2001, the Post has found.

The record was broken at 11.45am on Wednesday when an amber rainstorm warning signal was raised.

The four black rainstorm warnings issued were in effect for a total of 17 hours and 35 minutes during the current summer, a historical high for the season since the signal system was revamped in 1998.

But a veteran meteorologist warned that global warming could mean more instances of extreme wet weather in Hong Kong were likely to occur in the long run.

A check by the Post found that no signals were issued before mid-March, with five amber rainstorm warnings sent out between March 15 and June 17.

Between the summer solstice on June 21 and Wednesday, another 46 warnings of all tiers were issued. The figure for this period alone was the highest number since 1998.