More cool weather expected this week due to monsoon surge; temperature dipped to 22.3°C on Jan 24

SINGAPORE — More cool and rainy weather is expected this week due to a monsoon surge, said the Meteorological Service Singapore on Wednesday (Jan 25).

In response to CNA's queries, the agency said that Singapore and the surrounding vicinity have been experiencing such weather conditions since Sunday, which is the first day of the current surge.

The monsoon surge refers to a "strengthening of winds over the South China Sea, causing extensive rainclouds to form over the surrounding region", said the Met Service, which is under the National Environment Agency (NEA).

Singapore experiences two to four surges on average during each northeast monsoon season and each surge lasts from one to five days.

Explaining that this is the first monsoon surge occurrence in the current northeast monsoon season, the Met Service added: "Sometimes the surges come in spells, with breaks of cloudy and overcast conditions."

The daily total rainfall of 114.4mm recorded at Upper Pierce Reservoir on Sunday - the first day of Chinese New Year — was the highest during this monsoon surge.

On Tuesday, the rain was heaviest over the eastern part of Singapore, with a total of 61.2mm recorded at Pulau Tekong.

The lowest temperature during this current surge was also recorded on the same day, measuring 22.3 degrees Celsius at Newton and Jurong West.

The Met Service said widespread continuous rain, which may turn "heavy at times", is expected to continue on Wednesday, gradually easing in the night.

Short-duration afternoon showers are forecast for Thursday and Friday.

"Windy and rainy conditions can be expected again with another monsoon surge expected to affect Singapore and the surrounding region from around Saturday," said the Met Service.

"The surge is likely to last over the weekend and bring cool and windy conditions, with daily minimum temperatures of 22 degrees Celsius in some places."

The Met Service noted that the last time a similar monsoon surge occurred was last January. Back then, the highest daily total rainfall recorded was 101.2 mm, and the lowest temperature reached 22.8 degrees Celsius. CNA

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