The No 1 typhoon warning signal issued in the early hours of Wednesday will remain in effect throughout the day, the Hong Kong Observatory has said, as showers hit the city.

The weather forecaster issued the standby signal at 12.40am and said it would assess whether to raise it to No 3 in the next two days.

It added that the tropical depression was expected to maintain a distance of about 700km from the city, noting the No 1 signal would remain in force “for most of the time” on Wednesday.

“The tropical depression is expected to intensify gradually and move in the general direction of Hainan Island in the next couple of days,” the Observatory said. “It will then move towards the vicinity of the coast of western Guangdong.

“With the tropical cyclone edging closer to the coastal areas, it will be windy with occasional heavy squally showers in the latter part of this week.”