The year 2005 was the third wettest on Hong Kong's record, with a total rainfall of 3,214.50 mm, 45.2 percent above normal, the Hong Kong Observatory said Tuesday.

This was mostly due to an active southwest monsoon in June and August, bringing in plenty of moisture. June was the fourth wettest since records began in 1884, and August the second wettest. The rainfall in these two months alone amounted to 1,865.2mm, about 84 percent of the normal annual rainfall.

While an unprecedented 26 named storms occurred in the northern Atlantic in 2005, compared with a norm of about, low tropical cyclone activity was seen in the western North Pacific and the South China Sea, where only 26 tropical cyclones formed, compared with the normal of 31.

Three tropical cyclones affected Hong Kong in the year, roughly half the normal figure. The first tropical cyclone warning signal of the year was issued on August 12, the latest in post-war years.

The year 2005 was also a hazy year. For 27.8 percent of the time, reduced visibility of 8km or below was observed at the airport, breaking the previous record of 23.6 percent set in 2004.

Despite a very wet June and August, below normal rainfall and hence a lack of washout processes was recorded in many other months, contributing to more frequent occurrences of haze, the Observatory said.

(Xinhua News Agency January 4, 2006)