Singapore, 1 June 2022 – While more showers are expected in the first fortnight of June 2022 compared to the second half of May 2022, the prevailing warm and humid conditions are forecast to continue. In the coming fortnight, the daily maximum temperatures are expected to be around 34 degrees Celsius on most days, and could reach a high of around 35 degrees Celsius on a few days. Some warm nights may also be expected. With the prevailing Southwest Monsoon expected to persist in June 2022, the low-level winds over Singapore will mostly blow from the southeast.
2 On some days in the coming fortnight, localised short-duration thundery showers are forecast over parts of the island in the late morning and afternoon due to strong daytime heating of land areas. On a few days, widespread thundery showers with gusty winds due to Sumatra squalls may occur between the pre-dawn hours and morning. In addition, on a few days in the coming fortnight, a mass of dry air from the Indian Ocean is forecast to move over the equatorial Southeast Asia region bringing fair and warm weather over Singapore and the surrounding areas. Overall, the rainfall for the first half of June 2022 is expected to be near-average over most parts of Singapore.
3 While more showers are expected compared to the last two weeks of May 2022, the prevailing warm and humid conditions are forecast to continue in the first fortnight of June 2022. Daily temperatures are expected to range between 25 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees Celsius on most days, and the daily maximum temperature could reach around 35 degrees Celsius on few days when there is little or no rain. Warm and humid conditions can also be expected on some nights when the prevailing winds from the southeast or south blow warm and humid air from the sea. On these nights, minimum temperatures of up to 28 degrees Celsius can be expected, particularly over the southern and eastern coastal areas of the island.
4 For updates of the daily weather forecast, please visit the MSS website (www.weather.gov.sg), NEA website (www.nea.gov.sg), or download the myENV app.
REVIEW (1 – 31 May 2022)
5 In the second half of May 2022, the light and variable winds over Singapore and the surrounding region strengthened to blow from the southeast or southwest. This shift in the winds in late-May 2022 signalled the start of the Southwest Monsoon season.
6 The second half of May 2022 was drier compared to the first half of the month. The second fortnight of May 2022 was mostly fair and warm due to the presence of dry air over Singapore and the surrounding equatorial Southeast Asia region, and the influence of the dry phase of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) [1]. There were several days of thundery showers that brought welcome relief from the warm and humid weather in May 2022. On several days, particularly in the first half of May 2022, the presence of low-pressure systems over the surrounding sea areas widespread thundery showers and gusty winds to Singapore between the early hours and morning. On 4 May 2022, heavy thundery showers from a Sumatra squall fell over many parts of Singapore in the predawn and early morning. The daily total rainfall of 89.2mm recorded at Tuas South that day was the highest daily total for May 2022.
7 In Singapore, it was warm on most days in May 2022. There were 22 days with daily maximum temperatures exceeding 34.0 degrees Celsius, which 13 of these days with daily maximum temperature exceeding 35.0 degrees Celsius. Most of these days were in the second half of the month. The highest daily maximum temperature of 36.7 degrees Celsius was recorded at Admiralty on 13 May 2022. This is the highest temperature ever recorded in Singapore in May, surpassing the previous record high of 36.5 degrees Celsius on 16 May 2010 and 3 May 2016. There were also several warm nights, particularly over the southern and south-eastern parts of the island where the night-time minimum temperature was around 28.0 degrees Celsius.
8 At the Changi climate station, the highest daily maximum temperature recorded was 35.4 degrees Celsius on 29 May 2022. This ties with the highest daily maximum temperature ever recorded at our climate station in May 2005. The mean monthly maximum temperature for May 2022 was 32.9 degrees Celsius. This was 0.6 degrees Celsius higher than the May long-term average and is the second highest mean maximum temperature recorded at the climate station in the last ten years, after May 2016 (33.0 degrees Celsius). The mean monthly temperature recorded for May 2022 at Changi climate station was 29.2 degrees Celsius, which is 0.6 degrees Celsius warmer than the long-term mean for May.
9 About half of the island recorded slightly above-average rainfall in May 2022, with most of the rain falling in the central part of Singapore. The highest anomaly of 66 percent above- average was recorded at Admiralty. The anomaly was lowest at Changi at 37 percent below-average.
[1] The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is characterised by an eastward propagation of clouds and rainfall over the tropical regions from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean.
CLIMATE STATION STATISTICS
Long-term Statistics for June
(Climatological reference period: 1991 – 2020)
| Average daily maximum temperature: | 31.9 °C |
| Average daily minimum temperature: | 25.7 °C |
| Average monthly temperature: | 28.5 °C |
| Average rainfall: | 135.3 mm |
| Average number of rain days: | 13 |
Historical Extremes for June
(Rainfall since 1869 and temperature since 1929)
| Highest monthly mean daily maximum temperature: | 33.2 °C (1997) |
| Lowest monthly mean daily minimum temperature: | 23.2 °C (1965) |
| Highest monthly rainfall ever recorded: | 378.7 mm (1954) |
| Lowest monthly rainfall ever recorded: | 21.8 mm (2009) |