Hottest day: Temperature of 37 deg C in Ang Mo Kio matches 40-year-old highest daily mark record

SINGAPORE — The mercury hit 37 degrees Celsius in Ang Mo Kio on Saturday (May 13), tying the all-time mark for the highest daily maximum temperature in Singapore, which was recorded in Tengah on April 17, 1983.

It is also the highest recorded temperature for the month of May, and the hottest day in 2023.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, the National Environment Agency said the previous high for the month of May was 36.7 degrees Celsius, recorded in Admiralty in 2022.

The weatherman added that temperatures breached the 36 degrees Celsius mark in several parts of the island on Saturday.

NEA said the warm and dry conditions are expected to continue on Sunday, but short-duration showers are expected next week, which may help to ease the heat and humidity.

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Saturday was the second day in a row that the mercury hit a record high in 2023. On Friday, Singapore registered a high of 36.2 degrees Celsius in Choa Chu Kang. The year's previous high was recorded on April 14, when the temperature hit 36.1 degrees Celsius in Woodlands.

Singapore's temperature records started in 1929.

The Meteorological Service Singapore had earlier forecast that the warm and humid weather experienced in April was expected to continue into the first half of May.

In a statement on May 2, it said: "May is normally one of the warmest months of the year. The first half of May is forecast to be warm and humid, with daily maximum temperatures reaching 34 degrees Celsius on most afternoons.

"On a few days when there is less cloud cover, the daily maximum temperature could reach a high of around 35 degrees Celsius."

NEA in April debunked claims circulating via text messages that Singapore was about to face a severe heatwave with temperatures rising to between 40 degrees Celsius and 50 degrees Celsius.

"It is unlikely for the temperature in Singapore to reach a high of 40 degrees Celsius in the coming weeks," it said.

ALSO READ: Hottest day in 2023? Temperature soars to 36.2 deg C at Choa Chu Kang

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.