Macao
The Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) is a part of China’s territory. It is located on the Southeast coast of China to the west of the Pearl River Delta. Bordering on Guangdong Province, it locates 60km from Hong Kong and 145km from the city of Guangzhou. Local time is eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
Area
Due to land reclamation along its coastline, Macao has grown in land area from 10.28km2 in the 19th century to 29.2 km2 today, which is equal to one-fortieth of Hong Kong and one twenty-third of Singapore. Macao consists of the Macao peninsula and the two islands of Taipa and Coloane. Three bridges, Nobre de Carvalho Bridge, Friendship Bridge (Ponte da Amizade) and Sai Van Bridge, link the peninsula to Taipa, while the two islands are linked by the six-lane 2.2km Taipa-Coloane Causeway.
Population
The population of Macao is estimated to be 546,200. Population density is 18706/km2, and the northern part of the peninsula is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
According to the results of the by-census 2006, as at 19 August 2006, 48.8% of the resident population were male and 51.2% were female. In terms of age structure, the youth population aged under 15 shared 15.2% of the total, and 77.7% are aged between 15 and 64. Those aged 65 years and older accounts for 7% of the population. Average life span for both sexes is over 79 years old.
Chinese and Portuguese are the official languages of Macao, and more than 95% of the population speak Chinese. Portuguese is spoken by about 0.6% and the remainder speak English, Filipino or other languages.
According to the results of the by-census 2006, more than 78% of Macao’s population have been living in the territory for more than 10 years. Meanwhile, 42.5% of the population were born in Macao and 47.1% were born in the Mainland, while 10.4% of residents are from other regions.
Climate
Macau located at the west bank of Pearl River Delta in South China, is the intersection of Chinese Mainland and South China Sea. It is also located at the south of tropic of Cancer. The winds directions in winter and summer are opposite. Therefore, Macau is in the monsoon region and from the climate classification is considered mild and rainy in summer. The most comfortable period begins from the middle of October to December.
The winter season in Macau covers the months January and February. The cold air from north Siberia continuously passes through the Mid and South China into Macau region and brings us cold and dry northerly winds. The urban temperature sometimes drops below 10ºC. Therefore, the annual minimum temperature is generally recorded in these two months. When the precipitation and rainy days are less it is because there is lack of water vapour in the atmosphere.
March and April is the seasonal interchange period. The wind direction along the coastal region of South China is mainly easterly to southeasterly, which will increase the temperature and humidity. Beside some occasional wet weather, fog, drizzle and low visibility days, the weather is mainly fine in spring.
The summer in Macau is longer than the other seasons. Because of hot and wet conditions, the bad weather such as thunderstorm and heavy rain always occur from May to September. Waterspout can be seen occasionally.
Meanwhile from May to October, tropical cyclones occur frequently which make the highest records of precipitation, temperature, rainy days and thunderstorms. As local tropical cyclones number 8 typhoon signal is hoisted the sea and air transports are suspended.
The autumn begins at October, at that time the mainland China becomes cool. The autumn season in Macau is very short, the weather is stable and comfortable with clear sky. It finally returns to the cool and dry November. The cold air from the north will intrude periodically in December.
