Singapore recorded its highest temperature in a decade this month, as the mercury soared to 36.7 deg C.
This daily maximum temperature recorded in Seletar on Wednesday is also just shy of the highest daily maximum temperature ever recorded here, which was 37 deg C in Tengah on April 17, 1983.
The hot and dry weather is refusing to let up. The nation experienced its most parched March here in over a century last month, alongside some scorching weather.
Showers on many days over the last two weeks brought scant relief, said the weatherman. The weather is expected to continue to sizzle over the next fortnight.
According to Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), daily maximum temperatures are expected to range between 33 deg C and 35 deg C for the next two weeks, and could reach a high of up to 36 deg C on a few days. It explained that warmer conditions are common during such inter-monsoon periods when there is strong solar heating and the winds are generally light.
But the island is still likely to experience short-duration thundery showers mostly in the afternoons on five to seven days. In addition, thundery showers with gusty winds due to a Sumatra squall can be expected in the pre-dawn and morning on one or two days.
Giving a review of the previous two weeks, the MSS said Singapore experienced the highest daily maximum temperature of between 34.1 deg C and 36.7 deg C.
As of Thursday, the mean monthly temperature for this month was 29.4 deg C, 1.4 deg C warmer than the long-term mean for April.
Rainfall was also below average across the island in the first half of this month. The highest rainfall of 126mm was recorded around Jurong and the lowest around Admiralty, where 20mm was recorded, which was 82 per cent below average.
The highest total daily rainfall recorded was 111mm around the Upper Peirce Reservoir area on April 3.
But overall, the MSS predicts that the rainfall for this month is expected to be near average.
Because of the effects of climate change and the strong El Nino influence at the beginning of this year, some experts have predicted that 2016 is expected to be an exceptionally warm year, and perhaps even shattering last year's record as the warmest worldwide since 1880.
In Singapore, last year tied with 1998 and 1997 as the warmest years on record, with an annual mean temperature of 28.3 deg C.
