Expect a wet, cool Christmas this year
Some businesses bemoan decline in footfall, but others including laundromats see cheer
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Overall rainfall for this month is expected to be well above average, with moderate to heavy thundery showers expected in the afternoon on eight to 10 days for the rest of the month, said the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Service Singapore.
ST PHOTO: GIN TAY
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It's beginning to look a lot like a wet Christmas, as the rain that recently blanketed the island is expected to continue over the next two weeks.
Temperatures will likely dip to 23 deg C and showers are expected around Christmas Day.
The temperature plunged to as low as 21.4 deg C in the northern part of Singapore on Dec 2, beating the initial forecast of 22 to 30 deg C by the weatherman for the first two weeks of the month.
The cool weather was the result of an intense thunderstorm that hit the island that afternoon.
Over last Friday to Sunday, rain fell continuously over much of the island before dissipating on Sunday evening.
The highest daily total rainfall recorded over the weekend was 80.9mm on Sunday in Loyang.
Over the next two weeks, the daily temperature is forecast between 24 and 33 deg C on most days, and could drop to a low of around 23 deg C on a few days, the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Service Singapore said yesterday.
Overall rainfall for this month is expected to be well above average, with moderate to heavy thundery showers expected in the afternoon on eight to 10 days for the rest of the month.
Singapore and the surrounding region are currently in the wet phase of the north-east monsoon season, which is expected to continue into next month.
While many may welcome the cooler temperatures, businesses are looking at the wet weather with gloom.
Fruit seller Loo Jie Shen, 25, said revenue at the Toa Payoh stall he works at has declined by 50 per cent since the wet season started.
"We usually have fewer customers at the end of the year as people go overseas. The rain makes it worse as there are fewer people walking past our shop and they don't want to eat fruit in this weather," he said.
23 deg C
What the daily temperature could drop to on a few days in the next two weeks, according to the National Environment Agency's Meteorological Service Singapore.
Service providers, such as Jolly Foot Massage & Reflexology and Ma Kuang TCM Medical & Healthcare Centre, are seeing a sharp decline in footfall as well.
"Our customers tend to be older and it's difficult for them to go out because of the rain," said Ma Kuang employee Chan Jia Chuen, 23.
Parents such as Ms Lim Hui Hsing, 27, are keeping their children entertained indoors.
"We had made plans to go swimming and hiking but now we'll probably stay at home, go shopping or visit an indoor playground," said Ms Lim, who has a two-year-old daughter.
Not all businesses are complaining - among them laundromats, steamboat eateries and food delivery providers.
The number of customers has more than doubled at Happy Bubbles Laundromat in Tampines, with some coming from as far as Sengkang and Loyang.
"They told me that laundromats around their area are too crowded," said owner Mike Ng, 63.
It is difficult for customers to dry their clothes properly at home due to the rain, he said. "A first-time customer told me that her clothes smelled like freshly baked bread after she dried them at the laundromat."
Meanwhile, Xiao Cao Xiang Steamboat Buffet has seen a 20 per cent rise in customers at its Toa Payoh branch over the past two weeks.
"More people want to eat hotpot when it's raining because it's nice to eat warm food when it's cold," said staff member Lian De Fu, 24.
