It's a scorcher... and the nights are getting hotter

Straits Times 8 Jun 12;

IT IS going to be hot, hot, hot - even at night.

The weatherman has warned that temperatures are expected to soar to 30 deg C at night in the coming weeks.

Daily temperatures are likely to hit a high of 34 deg C as Singapore sweats it out in June - typically the hottest month of the year. The average daily maximum temperature for June is 31.3 deg C while the minimum is 24.8 deg C.

A spokesman for Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said temperatures of between 29 deg C and 30 deg C have been recorded on several nights in June, July and August in recent years.

The heat is a feature of the south-west monsoon season from June to September.

It is marked by light winds from the south-east that bring warm and humid air from the sea.

But it is slightly warmer along coastal areas in south-eastern and south-western Singapore due to their proximity to the sea.

This season is also a dry period, with hardly any rain.

The highest temperature recorded in June was 35 deg C in 1985.

Weather experts said it could be warmer in the more urban areas of Singapore.

Said Nanyang Technological University assistant professor Koh Tieh-Yong, from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences: 'Built-up concrete areas such as Housing Board estates retain daytime heat and take a longer time to cool down.'

The difference in temperature between urban and rural areas could be up to 2 deg C, he added.

Respite will come when the south-west monsoon tails off in September and lower day and night temperatures follow, said the MSS spokesman.

KEZIA TOH and STACEY CHIA