The Japan Meteorological Agency said rising temperatures and other factors such as humidity, wind speed and solar radiation contributed to the high heat stress.
In 2023, Singapore endured 37 days of high heat stress, most of which occurred in April, May, June and October.
However, the country had a cool start to the year, with the Changi Climate Observatory recording below-average monthly temperatures from January to March.
“In particular, March’s temperature of 27.1 degrees was 0.7 degrees below the long-term average for the month, making it the coolest March in the past 10 years,” the Japan Meteorological Agency announced.
The Japan Meteorological Agency also reported that Singapore’s total annual rainfall in 2023 was 2,866.1mm, averaged across 32 stations across the island. This is 13.1 percent above the long-term average of 2,534.3 mm, making last year the seventh wettest year since 1980.
“Although 2023 was wet overall, there were some drier than usual months in April, May, August, and October. was found to be among the top 10 driest months in the world,” the report said.
The wettest day of 2023 was February 28, when 225.5 mm of rain was recorded at the Meteorological Department’s Kallang station. The next day was the coolest day of the year in Singapore, with a temperature of 21.1 degrees Celsius recorded at the Met Station in Newton on March 1.
December was the wettest month of the year, with 569.4mm of rainfall recorded at the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Woodlands Station.