Tropical Cyclone Matmo is set to move across the Philippines on Friday and come within 800 kilometres of Hong Kong this weekend, the Observatory has said.
The T1 storm signal may be issued on Friday evening, while higher warning signals will be considered on Saturday, according to the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO).
“Locally, the weather will become unsettled later on Saturday (4 October) to Sunday (5 October) and it will be windy. Seas will be rough with swells. There will also be occasional squally showers,” the HKO said on Thursday.
| Date time | Position | Classification | Maximum sustained wind near centre | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00 HKT 03 October 2025 | 16.5 N | 123.0 E | Severe Tropical Storm | 110 km/h |
| 08:00 HKT 04 October 2025 | 18.2 N | 117.1 E | Typhoon | 140 km/h |
| 08:00 HKT 05 October 2025 | 20.0 N | 112.1 E | Severe Typhoon | 165 km/h |
| 08:00 HKT 06 October 2025 | 22.3 N | 107.8 E | Severe Tropical Storm | 105 km/h |
| 08:00 HKT 07 October 2025 | 23.8 N | 104.2 E | Low Pressure Area | 40 km/h |
As Matmo dissipates, the weather will improve over the coast of Guangdong during the Mid-Autumn Festival and on the day after, the Observatory added. But showers will persist throughout next week.
Festival postponed
The Waterbomb Hong Kong music festival – set to take place this weekend – has been postponed with refunds promised for ticket holders.
“Despite the organizers’ thorough preparations to ensure a safe event, the Hong Kong Observatory’s forecast announced on September 30 indicates wind speeds of up to Signal No. 8,” it said in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “According to the Hong Kong Observatory’s standards, this signal requires the cancellation of events.”
Some commenters were sceptical of the move, claiming ticket sales appeared poor. “The weather forecasts were public knowledge days ago. If the threat was genuine, a cancellation decision based on this widely available data would have been announced earlier, not abruptly with only three days remaining,” one said.
Another user complained they had booked tickets to fly from Xinjiang for the festival, with travel and hotel costs amounting to HK$10,000.
Last year, the festival in Central saw long queues and a chaotic kick-off, after Tropical Storm Maliksi damaged on-site facilities.
Climate crisis
Tropical cyclones – which get their energy from warm ocean water – are strengthening and becoming ever more destructive because of warming seas. Over 90 per cent of excess heat in the atmosphere is ending up in oceans, according to NASA, as rising greenhouse gases prevent it from escaping to space.
Preliminary studies by climate scientists suggest that human-driven climate change intensified Super Typhoon Ragasa, which battered the Asia-Pacific region, including Hong Kong, last week.
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