Warm Conditions Expected in First Half of August 2020

Singapore, 30 July 2020 – The first fortnight of August 2020 is forecast to be warm and less wet compared to July 2020. The daily maximum temperature is expected to range between 33°C and 34°C on most days, with highs of around 35°C on a few days. Warm and humid conditions are also expected on a few nights, with temperatures hovering around 28°C.

2          The prevailing Southwest Monsoon conditions are expected to persist into August 2020. In the first half of August 2020, the low-level winds are forecast to blow from the southeast or southwest. With the presence of low-pressure systems over the South China Sea in the first week of August 2020, the low-level winds over Singapore and the surrounding vicinity are forecast to strengthen and blow from the west on some days.

3          In the first fortnight of August 2020, the monsoon rain band is forecast to shift northward, away from the equatorial Southeast Asia region, bringing drier conditions to Singapore. During the fortnight, short-duration moderate to heavy thundery showers can be expected over parts of the island between the late morning and afternoon on some days due to solar heating of land areas. Widespread thundery showers with gusty winds due to Sumatra squalls are expected between the predawn hours and morning on two or three days. Rainfall for the first fortnight of August 2020 is forecast to be slightly below-normal over most parts of Singapore.

4          The first half of August 2020 is expected to be warmer than July 2020. On most days, the daily temperature is forecast to range between 25°C and 34°C, with highs of around 35°C on a few days. Warm and humid nights with temperatures of around 28°C can be expected on a few days when the prevailing southeasterly winds blow in warm air from the sea over land.

5         For updates of the daily weather and haze situation, please visit the MSS website (www.weather.gov.sg), NEA website (www.nea.gov.sg), or download the myENV app, MSS’ Weather@SG app, and the haze microsite (www.haze.gov.sg).

REVIEW (1 – 29 July 2020)

6          Southwest Monsoon conditions prevailed in July 2020. During the period, the low-level winds blew from the southwest or southeast, and from the west on some days.

7          During the month, the monsoon rain band remained over the equatorial Southeast Asia region, which brought thundery showers on many days to Singapore and the surrounding vicinity. Most of the thundery showers fell over the island between the late morning and early afternoon due to strong solar heating of land areas. On some of these days, the showers extended into the late afternoon. There were also thundery showers that fell on a few nights due to large-scale convergence of winds in the surrounding region. On 9 July 2020, thundery showers fell over many areas of the island. The daily total rainfall of 125.6mm recorded at Buona Vista that day was the highest daily total rainfall for July 2020.

8          In July 2020, the daily maximum temperatures at all stations across the island were below 33°C for more than half the month, and on nine of these days, the daily maximum temperature was below 32°C. The lowest daily maximum temperature of 25.9°C was recorded at Khatib on 13 July 2020, which was associated with island-wide thundery showers and overcast skies that day.

9          More than two thirds of the island received above average rainfall in July 2020. The rainfall recorded at Jurong was 86% above average while that recorded at Clementi was 24% below average.

CLIMATE STATION STATISTICS

Long-term Statistics for August
(Climatological reference period: 1981 – 2010)

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