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SINGAPORE – Typically one of Singapore\u2019s drier months, March 2025 broke records as being the country\u2019s wettest March due to an unusual monsoon surge. <\/p>\n
The event, which lasted from <\/p>\n March 19 to 20<\/p>\n <\/a>, \u201ccontributed significantly\u201d to that month\u2019s rainfall, said the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) on Jan 8.\u00a0<\/p>\n In its <\/i><\/b>annual climate and weather report for 2025, <\/b>MSS noted that the islandwide average rainfall over the two days was 272.3mm. This exceeded the month\u2019s long-term average of 209.7mm.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The average rainfall in March 2025 was 130 per cent above the norm, at 482.9mm, added the weatherman. \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Overall, 2025 was off to an exceptionally wet start due to a series of monsoon surges \u2013 a weather phenomenon that brings rain and cooler weather to the country \u2013 in January and March.<\/p>\n Downpours in both months due to three monsoon surge events made 2025 the seventh-wettest year for Singapore since 1980, said MSS.\u00a0<\/p>\n Monsoon surges occur when bursts of cold, dry air from wintry regions like Central Asia move over the warm waters of the South China Sea, picking up moisture. This brings extensive rainfall, strong winds and cooler temperatures to Singapore.<\/p>\n At times, near Singapore, the winds may interact with a separate whirlpool of air, where winds are forced to move upwards, forming clouds. This is called a low-pressure vortex, which worsens the deluge over the country. <\/p>\n While it is common for such surges to occur in December and January during the wet phase of the north-east monsoon, the March surge was unusual as it happened <\/b>during the dry phase of the monsoon season.<\/p>\n The dry phase of the monsoon season is called such as the rain band shifts away from Singapore.<\/p>\n Asked about possible reasons for the unusual monsoon surge event then, an MSS spokesperson told The Straits Times that the rain band had remained close to Singapore last March.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, other key features of a strong monsoon surge were present, (including) the presence of a vortex near Singapore,\u201d added the spokesperson.<\/p>\n The first monsoon surge of the year between Jan 10 and 13 also <\/b>broke rainfall records for the month of January, MSS said in the report, <\/b>which summarised key weather data in 2025.<\/p>\n The month\u2019s highest-ever daily rainfall of 241.8mm was recorded at Pulau Tekong on Jan 10. This surpassed the previous high of 238.2mm recorded on Jan 30, 2011, on Pulau Ubin.<\/p>\n That day, the non-stop rain over Singapore coincided with high tides that resulted in flooding in some coastal areas in the low-lying East Coast area. <\/b>For instance, <\/p>\n a nearly three-hour flood was recorded<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/b>in Jalan Seaview in Mountbatten.<\/p>\n The four-day downpour last January <\/b>also delayed and diverted flights, and affected businesses.<\/p>\n Apart from the rain brought about by monsoon surges at the start of 2025, Singapore also experienced the effects of a different climate phenomenon, La Nina, during that period.\u00a0<\/p>\n La Nina events, caused by changes in sea surface temperatures and atmospheric pressure across the Pacific Ocean, brings cooler and wetter weather to the Republic and South-east Asia.<\/p>\n MSS said the short-lived La Nina climate phenomenon at the start of 2025 moderated Singapore\u2019s temperatures in the first half of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n From May to August, monthly rainfall was closer to their respective long-term averages, MSS said.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n But wetter conditions were also registered in Singapore from September onwards, about 40 per cent above the month\u2019s long-term average. <\/p>\n