Climatology
This page presents Singapore's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
Singapore is situated near the equator and has a tropical climate, with relatively high and uniform temperatures, abundant rainfall, and high humidity throughout the year. The climate of Singapore is characterized by two monsoon seasons separated by inter-monsoonal periods. The Northeast Monsoon occurs from December to early March, and the comparatively drier Southwest Monsoon from June to September. The early part of the Northeast Monsoon (December to early January) is the wetter period of the year when monsoon surges occur, which sometimes result in prolonged heavy rain. The later part of the Northeast Monsoon (late January to early March) is usually much drier, with February being the driest month during this period. Afternoon thunderstorms are common throughout the year, especially during the inter-monsoonal periods from late March to May and October to November. During the Southwest Monsoon and inter-monsoonal periods, widespread heavy rain and gusty winds associated with Sumatra squalls also occur occasionally. The 1981 – 2010 long-term average daily temperature was about 27.5°C, with an average daily maximum of about 31.5°C and an average daily minimum of about 24.7°C. The long-term average annual rainfall is around 2,166 mm.