Temperatures set to climb as May and June are traditionally the hottest months here
Diana Othman, Straits Times 7 May 08;
IF THE weather has been sweltering lately, it is because May is on record as the second-hottest month of the year here.
The fortnightly weather forecast by the National Environment Agency (NEA) indicates that up till the middle of this month, higher-than-average daily temperatures can be expected.
There will be little relief from rain, and winds will be too light to cool things down.
To top it off, a slight haze is also expected on some days between now and May 15.
In the first five days of this month, the mercury hit 34.1 deg C at its highest.
The average daily temperature for those five days was 29.3 deg C, slightly higher than the average daily temperature of 28.3 deg C in May in past years.
Expect temperatures to climb still higher - perhaps to 38 deg C - heading into June, traditionally the hottest month here.
Associate Professor Matthias Roth from the Department of Geography at the National University of Singapore listed factors such as lower-than-usual humidity, dryness of the air and clearer skies for pushing temperatures up.
He explained: 'Humidity actually absorbs heat from the sun's radiation. It has been less humid lately and, together with clearer skies, more intense sunlight is shining down on us.'
The NEA also noted that April and May were 'inter-monsoonal months' - the period between the end of the December-to-March north-east monsoon and the start of the south-west monsoon, which prevails from June to September.
April and May are marked by relatively strong solar heating and light, variable winds, it added.
Although widespread thundery showers will fall between now and mid-May, they will be brief squalls that bring little respite.
Several people The Straits Times spoke to have been taking measures to keep cool in the last week or two.
Insurance agent Jessie Tan, 49, had the air-conditioners in the three bedrooms of her Jurong home cleaned to optimise the cooling effect.
'All along I felt that the air-conditioners made the rooms cool enough but, lately, I don't feel the cool air as strongly,' she said.
Although her 14th-floor condominium unit is usually windy, the breezes seem to have died down.
'My daughter wants me to switch on the aircon every day now,' she said.
Over in Bedok Reservoir, 67-year-old retiree Larry Chong usually throws open the windows and turns on the fan.
But that has not seemed enough lately, so the air-conditioners have come on more often.
'If I don't, my house will feel like an oven,' he said.
