With temperatures rising up to 37°C – the highest in 40 years, according to a post by the National Environmental Agency – the heatwave has caused many Singaporeans to retreat into aircon rooms.
We’re not the only ones. Neighboring countries like India, Thailand and Malaysia have also been suffering in this heat.
But what is causing these uncomfortable temperatures?
Singapore content creator Woo Qiyun aka @theweirdandwild on social media has been a longtime advocate on environmental issues – and weighed in on the heatwave in a quick video.
She states that the inter-monsoon season we are going through is one factor.
This transition period between the monsoon seasons is known for being characteristically warm with lesser rainfall – which is why May is also one of the warmest months of the year.
“The other thing we have to talk about is El Nino,” Woo says.
The weather phenomenon is the recurring pattern to do with the warming of the ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
El Nino is also the opposite of La Nina, its sister – “where El Nino is the warm one and La Nina the cold one.”
The phenomenon occurs on average every two to seven years, and episodes usually last nine to 12 months.
On top of the inter-monsoon and El Nino clash, there’s also climate change which she describes as a “bratty little child” adding unpredictability to the chaos.
But the troubles don’t stop there.
Woo also brought up the “urban heat island effect” which according to Woo, are areas with dense clusters of buildings that are much hotter than less dense parts of Singapore – and goes up to 4.3 times that!
The combination of all three factors just make things a little sweatier in already sunny Singapore.
With El Nino set to last a few months, Woo also advised her followers to “keep hydrated, keep your plants and pets cool, take care of the vulnerable in the community – and maybe end the burning of fossil fuels.”
FYI, El Nino and La Nina translates to ‘the boy’ and ‘the girl’ in Spanish – which also leaves us wondering how these names came about.
Now we know!
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