August on track to be S’pore’s hottest, driest since records began
The Meteorological Service Singapore said that the Republic experienced a dry spell — defined as a period of at least 15 consecutive days with daily total rainfall of less than 1mm — of 17 consecutive days from July 31 to Aug 16.
SINGAPORE — The first fortnight of September is set to stay hot and dry in Singapore, after an August that is on track to be both the hottest and driest ever recorded, said the weatherman.
In an update on Friday (Aug 30), the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) also said that occasional haze may affect Singapore in the next two weeks along with some brief thundery showers.
It added that the daily temperature for the first fortnight of September is forecast to range between 26°C and 34°C on most days, with highs of around 35°C on a few days.
A RECORD-BREAKING HOT DRY AUGUST LIKELY
The MSS said that rainfall for August recorded at Changi as of Thursday — with two days of the month left — was 11.8mm, even less than the 18mm recorded in 1888. It added that August 2019 was therefore on track to be the driest August since rainfall records began in 1869.
The MSS said that the mean monthly temperature at Changi was 29.1°C — 0.2°C above the highest ever mean monthly temperature for August, which was recorded in 2016.
“August 2019 is thus likely to be the warmest ever August in Singapore since temperature records started in 1929,” said the MSS.
DRY, HOT CONDITIONS TO CONTINUE
“The rainfall in the first fortnight of September is likely to be significantly below normal,” it said.
“Warm nights with daily minimum temperatures above 26°C are expected on some days, reaching around 28°C in the southern and eastern coastal areas when prevailing winds blowing from the southeast bring in warm and humid air from the surrounding seas.”
During the fortnight, a monsoon rain band is forecast to remain over the northern South-east Asia region, away from Singapore. Under the influence of cooler sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Indian Ocean, dry weather is forecast to prevail over Singapore and the surrounding region as a result.
However, the MSS said that localised short-duration thundery showers can still be expected on four to five days between the late morning and early afternoon. In addition, Sumatra squalls are forecast to bring thundery showers and gusty winds on one to two mornings.
The weather agency said that the weather in the surrounding region is also forecast to be dry in the coming weeks.
“Hotspots with smoke plumes continue to be observed in parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan,” it said. “Depending on the direction of the prevailing winds and the proximity and extent of the fires, Singapore may experience occasional haze.”
A VERY WARM AND DRY AUGUST
The MSS said that Singapore experienced a dry spell — defined as a period of at least 15 consecutive days with daily total rainfall of less than 1mm — of 17 consecutive days from July 31 to Aug 16.
The dry spell eased on Aug 17 when showers fell over many parts of the island.
“The extended dry weather can be attributed to an intrusion of dry air from high pressure systems over northern Australia coupled with suppressed rain cloud formation due to cooler sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Indian Ocean,” said the MSS.
