Warm and Humid Weather to Persist in First Half of May 2023

Singapore, 2 May 2023 – The warm and humid weather experienced in April 2023 is expected to continue into the first half of May 2023. The inter-monsoon conditions prevailing over Singapore and the surrounding region are expected to persist, with the low-level winds mostly light and variable in direction, and blowing from the southeast or southwest on some days.

2      Short-duration thundery showers are expected over parts of the island in the afternoon on most days due to strong daytime heating of land areas. The showers could extend into the evening on one to two days. The temporary shifts in the winds to blow from the southwest in the first week of the fortnight could bring a few days of widespread thundery showers and gusty winds in the pre-dawn and morning. Overall, near average rainfall is forecast over most parts of the island for the first fortnight of May 2023.

3       May is normally one of the warmest months of the year. The first half of May 2023 is forecast to be warm and humid, with daily maximum temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius on most afternoons. On a few days when there is less cloud cover, the daily maximum temperature could reach a high of around 35 degrees Celsius.

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 – 30 April 2023)

5      In April 2023, inter-monsoon conditions prevailed over Singapore and the surrounding region with the low-level winds generally light and variable in direction.

6      During this period, thundery showers affected parts of the island on most afternoons due to strong solar heating of land areas. The showers extended into the evening on some occasions. On a few mornings, showers also fell over parts of Singapore. On 20 April 2023, a Sumatra squall brought heavy thundery showers and gusty winds over parts of the island in the morning. The rain was heaviest over the western and southern parts of Singapore. The daily total rainfall of 112.1mm recorded at Jurong West that day was the highest rainfall for April 2023.

7      It was generally warm in April 2023. The daily maximum temperature was above 34 degrees Celsius on most days, with nine days registering temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius or more. The highest daily maximum temperature was 36.1 degrees Celsius, recorded at Woodlands on 14 April 2023.

8       Most parts of Singapore recorded below average rainfall in April 2023. The highest anomaly of 36 per cent above average was recorded at Changi. The anomaly was lowest around the Somerset area at 40 per cent below average.

 

 

 

CLIMATE STATION STATISTICS

Long-term Statistics for May
(Climatological reference period: 1991 – 2020)

Average daily maximum temperature: 32.3 °C
Average daily minimum temperature: 25.7 °C
Average monthly temperature: 28.6 °C
Average rainfall: 164.3 mm
Average number of rain days: 15

 

Historical Extremes for May
(Rainfall since 1869 and temperature since 1929)

Highest monthly mean daily maximum temperature: 33.6 °C (1997)
Lowest monthly mean daily minimum temperature: 23.5 °C (1974)
Highest monthly rainfall ever recorded: 386.6 mm (1892)
Lowest monthly rainfall ever recorded: 41.6 mm (1997)