• The mean temperature in Singapore in 2020 was 28°C, making it the eighth warmest year on record
• It was 0.5°C above Singapore’s long-term average, the Meteorological Service Singapore said
• Cooler weather that arrived in June ended a record 28-month run of warmer-than-average months
• The coolest day of the year was Sept 16

SINGAPORE — The annual mean temperature in Singapore in 2020 was 28°C, which is 0.5°C above the long-term average, making it the eighth warmest year here on record, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said.

In a media release on Tuesday (Jan 19) detailing highlights of Singapore’s climate in 2020, the agency said that the first five months of last year were warmer than average, but June and September were cooler-than-average across the island.

The arrival of the cooler conditions in June ended a record 28 months of consecutive warmer-than-average mean temperatures here that started in February 2018, it said.

Despite this, 2020 still ranked with 2015, 2016 and 2019 as four of the 10 warmest years here, in terms of mean temperature, since records began in 1929.

The agency noted that Singapore’s temperature trends in 2020 “differ slightly” from global trends.

Globally, 2020 was also one of the three warmest years on record and the last decade, between 2011 and 2020, was the warmest decade on record.

In Singapore, the mean temperature for the 2011-2020 decade was 27.94°C, which was very marginally lower than the 2010-2019 decade, at 27.95°C.

RAINFALL AND COOL WEATHER

The annual total rainfall recorded at the Changi climate station in 2020 was 1,886.6 mm, which was 12.9 per cent below the long-term annual average of 2,165.9 mm. This ranked 2020 as the eighth lowest in terms of rainfall over the past 30 years.

However, intense heavy rainfall events, when the hourly rainfall total exceeded 70mm, were observed on six days in 2020, which is the highest number of days since 2013.

In June, the total rainfall at the Changi climate station was 233.8mm, making it the wettest June in the last 10 years. The station also recorded 21 rain days that month, the highest in the last 30 years.

Heavy rainfall on some days, in particular on June 23, contributed to flash floods at various locations in the island, the agency said.

The high number of rain days during June brought cooler conditions across the island. At the Changi climate station, the temperature remained below 30°C for five consecutive days between June 20 and 24.

The mean temperature of 28.1°C at the station was also 0.2°C lower than the long-term June average, making June 2020 the second coolest June in the last 20 years.

The 2020 Southwest Monsoon season, normally the drier part of the year, was “unseasonably wet” for Singapore and the surrounding region, MSS said, partly attributable to La Nina conditions. The La Nina pattern is characterised by unusually cold temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and linked with floods and drought. In Singapore, the effect is the formation of more rain clouds and rainfall.

As a result then, Singapore’s rainfall for June to September was 30 per cent above the 1981-2010 long-term average.

The season also brought cooler temperatures over Singapore, particularly in September. The lowest daily minimum temperature in 2020 was 20.9°C, recorded at Newton on Sept 16.

The cool weather on this day was due to a Sumatra squall, which is an organised line of thunderstorms that bring heavy rain and gusty winds. In 2020, about 50 Sumatra squalls crossed over Singapore, compared to an average of about 45 annually.

The driest period was between January and March, with the monthly rainfall more than 30 per cent below average in each of these months.