SINGAPORE – Over the last few decades, Singapore has been growing warmer, and at twice the rate of the global average, according to the Meteorological Service.
Between 1948 and 2015, the temperature here rose an average of 0.25 degrees Celsius per decade. In contrast, the global warming rate was 0.12 degrees Celsius over a similar period (1951 to 2012).
This warming trend was accompanied by an increase in the number of warm days (above 34.1 degrees Celsius) and warm nights (above 26.4 degrees Celsius), according to the inaugural Annual Climate Assessment report for Singapore, released by the Meteorological Service on Tuesday, TODAY reported.
The report noted that while greenhouse warming has contributed to the rise in temperature over Singapore, it is not the only reason.
“Human activities can also influence the climate in ways that are not associated with the global warming resulting from increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere,” the report noted. “A key example is land use change, such as urbanization, which can impact temperatures and this is likely to have played a significant role in Singapore.”
Last year tied with 1997 and 1998 as being the warmest in history. The annual mean temperature was 28.3 degrees Celsius, exceeding the average by 0.8 degrees Celsius. Eight of Singapore’s 10 warmest years have occurred in this century, the report noted.
It added that last year was the second driest year on record. Only 1,266.8 millimetres of rainfall was recorded in 2015. The year 1997 still holds the record of being Singapore’s driest year with 1,118.9mm of rainfall recorded.
In future, the daily mean temperature is likely to increase further with the dry periods becoming drier and the wet periods becoming wetter.