SINGAPORE: The mercury rose above 36 degrees Celsius in the first half of April, with the warm weather in the first fortnight expected to continue for the rest of the month, the Meteorological Service Singapore (Met Service) said on Monday (Apr 17).
The daily maximum temperature was above 34 degrees Celsius on most days in the first half of the month, with four days registering temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius or more, said the Met Service.
The highest daily maximum temperature of 36.1 degrees Celsius was recorded at Woodlands on Apr 14, it added.
According to the Met Service, thundery showers also developed over parts of Singapore on most days due to “strong solar heating of land areas”.
On a few occasions, the showers also affected parts of the country in the mornings and evenings, it said.
The highest daily total rainfall for the first fortnight of the month was recorded over the eastern part of Singapore around the Changi area on Apr 1, where 90.4mm of rainfall was recorded.
“On Apr 1, large-scale convergence of winds in the surrounding region brought heavy thundery showers over parts of the island in the afternoon and evening,” said the Met Service.
However, most parts of the country recorded below average rainfall in the first fortnight of April, it added.
“The highest anomaly of 88 per cent above average was recorded at Changi. The anomaly was lowest around Jurong West at 62 per cent below average.”
WARM WEATHER TO CONTINUE
The remainder of April is expected to be warm, with temperatures set to hit 34 degrees Celsius in the afternoon on most days.
On some days when there is less cloud cover, the daily maximum temperature could reach a high of around 35 degrees Celsius, said the Met Service.
Wet weather is also forecast with short-duration thundery showers expected over parts of Singapore in the
afternoon on most days due to “strong daytime heating of land areas”.
The showers could extend into the evening on a few days, it added.
Singapore can also expect “widespread thundery showers and gusty winds in the pre-dawn and morning” on one to two days in the first week of the fortnight due to Sumatra squalls that may develop over the Strait of Malacca and move eastwards.
Overall, the Met Services expects near average rainfall for the second half of April and the total rainfall for the month is likely to be “below average over most parts of the island”.