Singapore, 16 Mar 2022 – The weather for the rest of March 2022 is expected to continue to be wet. The prevailing Northeast Monsoon conditions, with low-level winds blowing from the northeast or northwest, are forecast to gradually weaken. The shift in wind conditions signals the end of the Northeast Monsoon and the start of the inter-monsoon period.
2 The inter-monsoon period is characterised by light variable winds, warm weather and thunderstorms that can at times be heavy. Lightning activity tends to be higher during the inter-monsoon months than other months of the year. The inter-monsoon period is forecast to last through April 2022.
3 In the coming fortnight, the winds are expected to be mostly light and variable, but may blow from the southwest or west on several days. The monsoon rain belt is expected to lie over the equatorial Southeast Asia region. On several days during this period, Sumatra squalls from the Strait of Malacca may bring widespread moderate to heavy thundery showers with occasional gusty winds over Singapore in the early or pre-dawn hours, as they move eastward toward the South China Sea. On other days, short-duration moderate to heavy thundery showers are expected over parts of the island in the afternoon. For a few of these days, when there is strong convergence of winds in the surrounding vicinity, the thundery showers could extend into the evening. Overall, the rainfall for March 2022 is expected to be above-average over most parts of Singapore.
4 While wet weather can be expected in the coming fortnight, the daily maximum temperature could still reach a high of around 35°C on one or two days. On most days, the daily temperature is forecast to range between 24°C and 34°C. In addition, the Sumatra squalls may bring cooler daily temperatures of between 23°C and 32°C on a few days.
5 For updates of the daily weather forecast, please visit our MSS website (https://www.weather.gov.sg), NEA website (www.nea.gov.sg), or download the myENV app.
REVIEW (1 – 15 March 2022)
6 The Northeast Monsoon conditions prevailed over Singapore and the surrounding region in the first half of March 2022. The prevailing low-level winds blew mainly from the northwest or northeast, and from the east on a few days.
7 During the first two weeks of March 2022, thundery showers fell over parts of the island in the afternoon and evening on most days. On the afternoon of 7 March 2022, large-scale convergence of winds over Singapore and the surrounding region led to the development of moderate to heavy thundery showers over many areas of the island. The showers were particularly intense over the southern and western parts of Singapore. The daily total rainfall of 134.2 mm recorded at Jurong West was the highest daily total rainfall recorded in the first half of March 2022.
8 Although it rained across the island on most days, there were seven days when maximum temperatures of 34°C or more were recorded in the past two weeks. The highest daily maximum temperature of 36.0°C was recorded at Paya Lebar on 13 March 2022. The lowest daily minimum temperature was 22.1°C recorded at Admiralty and Jurong on 2 and 10 March 2022.
9 Many parts of Singapore recorded above-average rainfall in the first fortnight of March 2022. The rainfall recorded at Jurong West was 173% above-average while that recorded at Tuas West was 52% below-average.
CLIMATE STATION STATISTICS
Long-term Statistics for March
(Climatological reference period: 1991 – 2020)
| Average daily maximum temperature: | 32.2 °C |
| Average daily minimum temperature: | 24.9 °C |
| Average monthly temperature: | 27.8 °C |
| Average rainfall: | 151.7 mm |
| Average number of rain days: | 12 |
Historical Extremes for March
(Rainfall since 1869 and temperature since 1929)
| Highest monthly mean daily maximum temperature: | 34.1 °C (1998) |
| Lowest monthly mean daily minimum temperature: | 22.1 °C (1934) |
| Highest monthly rainfall ever recorded: | 528.3 mm (1913) |
| Lowest monthly rainfall ever recorded: | 6.2 mm (2016) |
