December 2018 was 2nd warmest year-end on record; Met Service warns of long-term warming in Singapore

VICTOR LOH Today Online 15 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE — If December felt hotter than usual, your hunch is right.

The last month of 2018 was the second warmest December since 1929, while the past decade is the warmest on record.

"These are signs of the long-term warming trend in Singapore," the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 15).

The mercury in Singapore continued to hit above-average temperatures last year, with a mean annual temperature of 27.9°C. This was 0.4°C higher than the 1981-2010 long-term average and 0.2°C warmer than 2017’s mean annual temperature of 27.7°C.

There were 11 months of higher-than-average temperatures recorded last year, with the exception of January when there was an extended cool spell.

December's monthly mean temperature of 27.6°C was only slightly behind the 27.7°C recorded on December 2015, MSS said.

The second half of the month was particularly warm, it added. The Changi climate station recorded a daily maximum temperature of 33.8°C on on Dec 28 and 30, tying the record set on Dec 2, 1948 for a December day.

The two hottest days last year were March 6 and Oct 5, with the mercury hitting 35.6°C at Admiralty and Marina Barrage respectively. May was the warmest month, with an average temperature of 29.5°C.

Since temperature records for Singapore started in 1929, the top 10 warmest years have all occurred in the past 25 years, and eight of them were recorded in this century.

The mean temperature for the last decade (2009 to 2018) was 27.89°C, surpassing the previous record by 0.02°C, which was from 1997 to 2006.

While last year's annual total rainfall was close-to-average, the rainfall recorded at the Changi climate station was 21 per cent below the 1981-2010 long-term average in some months, in particular from February to April.

June was the wettest month, with Ulu Pandan recording the most rainfall. The wettest day was on June 26.

MSS said that the extended cool spell in January 2018, brought forth by a monsoon surge, was the longest cool spell in at least two decades, with the daily minimum temperature dipping to 21.2°C on Jan 14 last year.

However, the coldest night was recorded at Tengah, when temperatures dipped to 20.5°C on March 30.

Other notable weather events last year included an intense thunderstorm on Jan 30, which brought rain and hailstones over the northern parts of the island.

"This is relatively rare in the tropics where hailstones usually melt before reaching the ground," MSS said.

Besides a waterspout off the east coast on Jan 31 — which blew sail boats on the beach a few meters inland — strong wind gusts of 133.3 km/h recorded at the Tengah station on March 31 last year caused substantial damage to chicken farms in the Lim Chu Kang area.

It was the strongest wind gust recorded since 2010.


2018 was Singapore’s 8th warmest year on record: Met Service
Aqil Haziq Mahmud Channel NewsAsia 15 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE: The year 2018 saw a mean annual temperature of 27.9 degrees Celsius, making it the joint eighth warmest year on record, the Meteorological Service (MSS) said on Tuesday (Jan 15).

This temperature – also recorded in 2014, 2009 and 2005 – is 0.4 degrees Celsius higher than the 1981 to 2001 long-term average, and 0.2 degrees Celsius warmer than 2017’s mean annual temperature of 27.7 degrees Celsius.

The warmest year on record is 2016, when a mean annual temperature of 28.4 degrees Celsius was recorded. Temperature records started in 1929.

“Above-average temperatures were recorded in all months in 2018 with the exception of January, when Singapore experienced an extended cool spell on 10 to 14 January,” the agency said.

Notably, MSS said December 2018 was the second warmest December in Singapore, with a monthly mean temperature of 27.6 degrees Celsius.

The second half of the month was particularly warm, it added, noting that Dec 28 and 30’s daily maximum temperature of 33.8 degrees Celsius tied the December day record set on Dec 2, 1948.

“Singapore’s top ten warmest years have all occurred in the past 25 years, and eight of them were recorded in this century,” MSS said, adding that the last decade from 2009 to 2018 marks Singapore’s warmest decade, with a mean temperature of 27.89 degrees Celsius.

“These are signs of the long-term warming trend in Singapore.”

NOTABLE WEATHER EVENTS

But it was not all sticky weather.

A monsoon surge from Jan 10 to 14 brought five consecutive days of cool weather across the island, with the daily minimum temperature dipping to 21.2 degrees Celsius. “This was the longest cool spell Singapore has experienced in at least two decades,” MSS said.

A monsoon surge refers to the strengthening of north-easterly winds blowing from a strong high-pressure system over the northern Asian continent toward the South China Sea.

Late January also brought some unusual weather events.

Intense thunderstorms brought rain and hailstones over northern parts of Singapore on Jan 30, with the MSS noting that “this is relatively rare in the tropics where hailstones usually melt before reaching the ground”.

And on Jan 31, a waterspout – also associated with an intense thunderstorm – was spotted off the east coast. “Strong wind gusts from the waterspout blew sail boats on the beach a few meters inland,” MSS added.

During the year, heavy rains and strong wind gusts from intense thunderstorms also caused several incidents of flash floods, fallen trees and damage to property, MSS said.

On Mar 30 in particular, strong wind gusts from an intense thunderstorm caused “substantial damage” to chicken farms in the Lim Chu Kang area, it added. “The wind gust of 133.3 km/h recorded at the nearby Tengah station on that day was the strongest wind gust recorded since 2010.”

NOT SO NOTABLE RAINFALL

The total annual rainfall in 2018, however, was far from spectacular.

MSS said the figure recorded in most parts of the island was close to average, while at the Changi climate station, it recorded well below average monthly rainfall in some months, particularly from February to April.

“This contributed to an annual total rainfall of 1,708mm, 21 per cent below the 1981 to 2010 long-term average,” MSS stated.


Singapore experienced eighth warmest year in 2018, December was second hottest year end in history
Cheryl Teh Straits Times 15 Jan 19;

SINGAPORE - Singapore has had no respite from the heat, with 2018 having clocked temperatures that made it the Republic's eighth warmest year.

Last year, temperatures were consistently above average. The year recorded a mean annual temperature of 27.9 deg C.

This is 0.2 deg C warmer than 2017's mean annual temperature of 27.7 deg C, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said on Tuesday (Jan 15) in its review of Singapore's weather and climate in 2018.

Notably, December 2018 was the second warmest December in Singapore, with a monthly mean temperature of 27.6 deg C, which is 0.1 deg C behind the hottest December recorded in 2015 (27.7 deg C).

The second half of last December was particularly warm, the MSS said. On Dec 28 and 30, the Changi climate station recorded a daily maximum temperature of 33.8 deg C, tying the record set on Dec 2, 1948, for a December day since Singapore's temperature records started in 1929.

The weatherman also highlighted the fact that Singapore's top 10 warmest years have all occurred in the past 25 years, and eight of them were recorded this century. The last 10 years (from 2009 to 2018) also mark the warmest decade in Singapore, with a mean temperature of 27.89 deg C. This surpassed the previous record (1997 to 2006) by 0.02 deg C.

This, the MSS said, is a sign of the long-term trend of warming in Singapore.

2016 ranked as the warmest year both globally and in Singapore, where a mean annual temperature of 28.4 deg C was recorded.

While Singapore's overall temperatures are on the rise, the weather was also been fairly temperamental. In January last year, a monsoon surge from Jan 10 to 14 brought five consecutive days of cool weather across the Island, with the daily minimum temperature dipping to 21.2 deg C on Jan 14 - the longest cool spell in Singapore in at least two decades.

While 2018 was largely a neutral El Nino (associated with hot, dry weather) year with "no significant influence on Singapore's climate", the MSS said that weak La Nina conditions prevailed in the first quarter of 2018.

But the Republic was not spared drastic fluctuations in weather conditions locally - with torrential rain, hailstorms and strong winds affecting the island in the first half on 2018.

On Jan 30, 2018, intense thunderstorms also brought rain and hailstones over northern parts of the island.

And on Jan 31, a waterspout - a rotating column of wind accompanied by intense storms over the sea - developed off Singapore's east coast. Strong wind gusts from the waterspout blew sail boats on the beach a few metres inland.