Tourists walk along the Marina Bay in Singapore on Oct. 14, 2022. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)
SINGAPORE, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Singapore recorded its fourth warmest year in 2023 due to El Nino dominance in the second half, and 2024 may be warmer when El Nino event decays, according to Singapore's Annual Climate Assessment released Saturday.
The Changi climate station registered annual mean temperature last year at 28.2 degrees Celsius, 0.4 degrees above the long-term average, becoming the fourth warmest on record since 1929, according to the document issued by Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS).
The highest temperature recorded in Singapore last year was 37.0 degrees Celsius on May 13, which ties with the record for highest daily maximum temperature since 1929.
El Nino brought warmer-than-usual temperatures for Singapore in 2023 due to higher sea surface temperatures over the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. However, the warmest temperatures tend to occur around March to May when El Nino decays in the following year, the MSS noted.
The MSS estimates that the annual average daily mean temperature will increase to 28.5 degrees Celsius and 32.9 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. ■