Jan. 10-13 monsoon surge one of the 'longer & more intense' events, record rainfall for the month fell on Pulau Tekong

The monsoon surge experienced in Singapore was one of the "longer and more intense surge events" in recent years, according to the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS).

In response to Mothership's queries, a spokesperson for the MSS said the monsoon surge started affecting Singapore and the surrounding region from Jan. 10 and began to weaken on Jan. 13.

The surge resulted in spells of moderate to heavy showers, with thunder at times.

Pulau Tekong recorded highest level of rainfall for January since 1980

MSS highlighted that during the four-day period, the islandwide average daily total rainfall ranged from 44.4mm to 120.2mm, with the highest rainfall measurements generally recorded over the northern and eastern parts of Singapore.

The highest daily rainfall was 241.8mm on Jan. 10, 2025, recorded at Pulau Tekong, exceeding the previous record of highest January daily rainfall of 238.2mm, set on Jan. 30, 2011 at Pulau Ubin.

These figures were calculated based on 32 islandwide stations with continuous rainfall records since 1980.

In addition, Jan. 10, 2025 saw the third-highest islandwide average daily total rainfall, at 120.2mm.

The second highest figure was recorded on Jan. 2, 2021, when the islandwide average daily total rainfall came up to 135.6mm, while the highest figure was recorded on Feb. 28, 2023, with 154.2mm.

Temperature-wise, across islandwide stations, the daily minimum temperatures generally ranged from about 22 to 24°C , while the daily maximum temperatures ranged from about 25 to 29°C .

The lowest daily minimum temperature recorded in January was 19.4°C at Mount Faber on Jan. 30 and 31, 1934.

How the rain affected Singapore

Left photo via Norman Yuen/Facebook, right photo via PUB/Facebook