Have you been feeling the heat in Singapore?

Bad news.

It could very well get worse in the next few months.

Temperatures in the next two months could rise due to the lingering effects of the El Niño phenomenon, which has affected temperatures in Singapore since the second half of 2023.

What is El Niño?

El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon where the ocean surface warms as low-level surface winds, which normally blow from east to west along the equator, weaken or start blowing the other direction.

Since the warmest annual temperatures from any El Niño event typically occur the year after an El Niño forms, both for Singapore and globally, 2024 could be an even warmer year, the National Environment Agency’s Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said.

The lingering effects of El Niño could push up temperatures during traditionally warm months of the year, which are April, May and June.

According to MSS records, these three months are historically the hottest months of the year, with May the warmest month of the year with average daily temperatures of 28.6ºC.

Average daily temperatures in April are 28.2ºC and average daily temperatures in June are 28.5ºC.

Uncomfortably hot

Matthias Roth, professor of urban climatology from the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) department of geography told The Straits Times that Singapore is likely to experience "above-average temperatures" in the next few months.

The increase in air temperatures associated with El Niño, coupled with high humidity, could make being outdoors an uncomfortable experience during the months of April to June.

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Top photo via Unsplash