SINGAPORE - Chilly weather is back, with the temperature on Monday (Dec 2) dropping to as low as 21.4 deg C in the northern part of Singapore, even as heavy thundery showers fell across the island in the afternoon.
This was outside the forecast range by the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) last Friday, which said Singaporeans could expect the temperature to range from 22 to 30 deg C in the first two weeks of December.
The weatherman told The Straits Times on Tuesday that the lowest temperature recorded on Monday was 21.4 deg C at 6pm in northern Singapore, specifically Admiralty.
But this was still higher than the lowest temperature so far this year - 20.8 deg C on May 5 in the eastern part of the country.
The lowest daily minimum temperature noted in Singapore since records were available in 1929 was 19.4 deg C, on Jan 30 and 31, 1934.
Weather scientist Koh Tieh Yong said: "The thick storm clouds behave like giant sunshades that cut down sunlight that otherwise would have warmed the surface. Meanwhile, acting like a giant mist-blowing fan, the winds are continuously cooled by the evaporation from falling raindrops."
"On average, December and early January have the most rainfall with the strongest winds and the shortest sunshine duration compared to the rest of the year," added the associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
October 2019, which had thundery showers over Singapore on most days of the month, also experienced some chilly weather. The temperature fell to below 22 deg C in some parts of the country, such as Khatib, on some days.
MSS said in its forecast for the first two weeks of December last Friday that the colder weather in December is partly due to the moderate to heavy thundery showers expected.
This comes amid the wet phase of the north-east monsoon season between December and January, which could see "monsoon surges" that bring several days of widespread continuous rain across the island.
On Monday, following "intense rain" in the afternoon, there were flash floods which disrupted traffic in Jurong East Street 32 and Choa Chu Kang Avenue 1, national water agency PUB said in a statement on Facebook.
A tree also fell on a car parked in a Bedok North housing estate, uprooting a metal railing that was in its path.
In the next 24 hours, MSS predicts that the temperature will range from 23 deg C to 31 deg C. It is expected to be windy with periods of showers, occasionally with thunder.
