Today's weather for Singapore, Singapore21st Aug 2008 08:30

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Weather Overview for Singapore

Singapore is a small island nation located at the tip of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It shares a border with Malaysia; the two are joined by a bridge at the Malaysian town of Johor Baharu. The Riau Islands of Indonesia also lie just off Singapore’s coast.

Singapore is located just one degree north of the equator, or around 85 miles. As such its climate is described as equatorial, with no distinct seasons. This climate is defined by constant warm temperatures, high humidity, and plentiful rainfall.

Average temperature is very constant throughout the year, at around 26C or 27C. November to January represents a brief slightly cooler period. Temperatures generally range from lows of 23C or 24C at night to daily highs of 30C or 31C. It can get hotter sometimes, but the proximity of the sea means very high temperatures are uncommon. 35C is the highest temperature recorded in Singapore and 20C the lowest; basically its always hot!

The hottest days can be made uncomfortable by the high humidity in Singapore which is often in the 90s and can even reach 100%. During very humid days the coastal areas are much more comfortable than the city.

Rainfall is high year round in Singapore but does have some seasonal variation due to the two monsoon seasons experienced in the region – the northeast monsoon between November and March and the southeast monsoon between June and September.

During the northeast monsoon, particularly the months of November, December and January Singapore receives its wettest and windiest weather. In these months average rainfall is around 250mm. Heavy rain can fall for 2 or 3 days at a stretch and it is frequently cloudy. Showers mostly arrive during the afternoon after the heat has built up. The prolonged rainy periods at this time of year is when humidity reaches its peak. When there is particularly heavy rain, a whole month’s rainfall can fall in a day and flooding and landslides become a danger.

The southeast monsoon in fact brings slightly drier air to Singapore and represents the least precipitous part of the year. Afternoon showers are still likely – as they are at any time of the year – but rainfall averages about 150-160mm per month at this time.

Squall lines- lines of thunderstorms ahead of a cold front can arrive in Singapore from the island of Sumatra in Indonesia to the south west. This can cause morning thunderstorms over the island, with lightening and heavy rain.

There is some variation in climate across the island of Singapore due in the main part to the hilly interior of the island. The highest peak, Bukit Timah, stands at only 164m but is enough to sometimes cause different weather patterns from one side of the island to another. In general the east of the island is hotter and drier than the west. It is not uncommon for there to be rain in the west of the island while there is sunshine in the east. On average the central hills receive the most rain of anywhere in Singapore.

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