Geography of Singapore
 | |
| Continent | Asia |
|---|---|
| Region | Southeast Asia |
| Coordinates | 1°17′N103°50′E/ 1.283°N 103.833°E |
| Area | Ranked 175th |
| • Total | 750 km2(290 sq mi) |
| • Land | 98.57% |
| • Water | 1.43% |
| Coastline | 193 km (120 mi) |
| Borders | Land border crossings namely Woodlands Checkpoint and Tuas Checkpoint, various coastal and air checkpoints linking Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as international destinations. |
| Highest point | Bukit Timah Hill164 m (538 ft) |
| Lowest point | Indian Ocean,South China Sea0 m (0 ft) |
| Longest river | Kallang River 10 km (6 mi) |
| Largest lake | None |
| Exclusive economic zone | 1,300 km2(500 sq mi) |
Singaporeis acity-stateandisland countryinmaritime Southeast Asia,located at the end of theMalayan PeninsulabetweenMalaysiaandIndonesiaas well as theStraits of Malaccaand theSouth China Sea.It is heavily compact and urbanised. As of 2023, Singapore has a total land area of approximately 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi).[1]Singapore is separated from Indonesia by theSingapore Straitand from Malaysia by theStraits of Johor.
Geographically, Singapore comprises itsmainlandand other islands. The mainland of Singapore measures 50 kilometres (31 mi) from east to west and 27 kilometres (17 mi) from north to south with 193 kilometres (120 mi) of coastline. These figures are based on 2.515 metres (8 ft 3.0 in) High Water Markcadastralsurvey boundaries.[2]It has anexclusive economic zoneof 1,067 km2(412 sq mi).
Topography[edit]
Singapore's main territory looks like a diamond-shaped island, although its territory includes surrounding smaller islands. The farthest outlying island isPedra Branca.Of Singapore's dozens of smaller islands,Jurong Island,Pulau Tekong,Pulau UbinandSentosaare the larger ones. Most of Singapore is no more than 15 meters above sea level.
The highest point of Singapore isBukit Timah Hill,with a height from the ground of 165 m (538 ft) and made up ofigneous rock,granite.Hills and valleys ofsedimentary rockdominate the northwest, while the eastern region consists ofsandyand flatter land. Singapore has no natural lakes, but reservoirs andwater catchment areashave been constructed to store fresh water forSingapore's water supply.
Singapore hasreclaimed landwith earth obtained from its own hills, the seabed, and neighboring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area has grown from 581.5 km2in the 1960s to 725.7 km2today, and will increase slightly more due to the construction of sea polder and barrage to deal with the ever-rising sea level.
Climate[edit]
Singapore is one-and-a-half degrees north of the equator, lying entirely between the1stand2nd parallels.Singapore's climate is classified astropical rainforest climate(Köppen climate classificationAf), with no true distinct seasons. Owing to its geographical location and maritime exposure, its climate is characterised by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall. Therefore, it is almost always warm and wet. The average annual rainfall is around 2,340 mm (92.1 in). The highest 24-hour rainfall figures ever recorded in history were 512.4 mm (20.2 in) (2 December 1978) atPaya Lebar,467 mm (18.4 in) (1969) and 366 mm (14.4 in) (19 December 2006).[3]
The temperature hovers around adiurnalrange of a minimum of 25 °C (77.0 °F) and a maximum of 33 °C (91.4 °F). May is the hottest month of the year in Singapore, followed by June. This is due to light winds and strong sunshine during those months.[4]The highest recorded temperature is 37.0 °C (98.6 °F), which was recorded twice on 17 April 1983 and 13 May 2023.[5]The lowest recorded temperature was 19.0 °C (66.2 °F) on 14 February 1989 atPaya Lebar.[6]Temperature often goes above 33.2 °C (91.8 °F) and can reach 35 °C (95 °F) at times.[7]
Relative humidityhas a diurnal range in the high 90s in the early morning to around 60% in the mid-afternoon, but does go below 50% at times. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%. Generally, there is much more rainfall on the western side of the island than on the eastern portion of Singapore, owing to arain shadoweffect.
Thus, the eastern side of Singapore is much drier and slightly hotter than western Singapore. This can cause slight weather disparities from one side of the island to the other. This is significant to note because even a small hill such asBukit Timah Hillcan cause this phenomenon. Despite Singapore's small size, there may be sunshine on one side while there is rain on the other.
Further contrasts that prevent true all-year uniformity are themonsoonseasons which happen twice each year. The first one is the Northeast Monsoon which occurs from mid-November to early March. The second is the Southwest Monsoon season which occurs from June to September. Periods between monsoon seasons receive less rain and wind. During the Northeast Monsoon, northeast windsprevail,sometimes reach 20 km/h (12 mph). There are cloudy conditions in December and January with frequent afternoon showers.
Spells of widespread moderate to heavy rain occur lasting from 1 to 3 days at a stretch. It is relatively dry in February till early March although rainfall still exceeds 120mm. It is also generally windy with wind speeds sometimes reaching 30 to 50 km/h (19 to 31 mph) in the months of January and February. During the Southwest Monsoon season, southeast winds prevail. Isolated to scattered showers occur in the late morning and early afternoon. Early morning "Sumatras"–squall linesthat originate over nearby Sumatra – are common.
| Climate data for Singapore (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1929–1941 and 1948–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 35.2 (95.4) |
35.2 (95.4) |
36.0 (96.8) |
35.8 (96.4) |
36.5 (97.7) |
35.0 (95.0) |
34.0 (93.2) |
34.2 (93.6) |
34.4 (93.9) |
34.6 (94.3) |
34.4 (93.9) |
33.8 (92.8) |
36.0 (96.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.6 (87.1) |
31.5 (88.7) |
32.2 (90.0) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.3 (90.1) |
31.9 (89.4) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.6 (88.9) |
31.8 (89.2) |
31.2 (88.2) |
30.5 (86.9) |
31.6 (88.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 26.8 (80.2) |
27.3 (81.1) |
27.8 (82.0) |
28.2 (82.8) |
28.6 (83.5) |
28.5 (83.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
28.1 (82.6) |
28.0 (82.4) |
27.9 (82.2) |
27.2 (81.0) |
26.8 (80.2) |
27.8 (82.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 24.3 (75.7) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.9 (76.8) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.3 (77.5) |
25.2 (77.4) |
25.0 (77.0) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.3 (75.7) |
25.0 (77.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 19.4 (66.9) |
19.7 (67.5) |
20.2 (68.4) |
20.7 (69.3) |
21.2 (70.2) |
20.8 (69.4) |
19.7 (67.5) |
20.2 (68.4) |
20.7 (69.3) |
20.6 (69.1) |
21.1 (70.0) |
20.6 (69.1) |
19.4 (66.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 221.6 (8.72) |
105.1 (4.14) |
151.7 (5.97) |
164.3 (6.47) |
164.3 (6.47) |
135.3 (5.33) |
146.6 (5.77) |
146.9 (5.78) |
124.9 (4.92) |
168.3 (6.63) |
252.3 (9.93) |
331.9 (13.07) |
2,113.2 (83.20) |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 13 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 171 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 83.5 | 81.2 | 81.7 | 82.6 | 82.3 | 80.9 | 80.9 | 80.7 | 80.7 | 81.5 | 84.9 | 85.5 | 82.2 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 180.4 | 198.6 | 196.6 | 182.4 | 184.8 | 175.4 | 188.5 | 184.6 | 161.4 | 155.0 | 133.2 | 133.1 | 2,074 |
| Source 1: National Environment Agency[8][9] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:NOAA(sun only, 1991–2020)[10] | |||||||||||||
| Singapore | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Climate chart (explanation) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info onPhabricatorand onMediaWiki.org. |
See or editraw graph data.
Climate change initiatives[edit]
Singapore recognises thatclimate changein the decades ahead will have major implications for the island-nation. It has taken a three-prong approach to the issue - researching how the nation will be affected in specific details, implementing mitigation measures and adapting to the coming changes. For the research, a Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) has been established.[12]
The government estimates that $100 billion will need to be spent over a 100-year time frame to address the issue. In the 2020 budget, it has set aside an initial $5 billion towards a Coastline and Flood Protection Fund. [13]For the population, it will provide incentives for owners to convert to electric vehicles (EVs), like rebates on the Additional Registration fees and expanding the EV charging network. By 2040, it expects to phase out petrol and diesel (internal combustion engine) vehicles. The country's transport policy continues to focus on a "car-lite" future with most commuters using public transportation (MRT trains, buses, taxis) instead. [14]
Singapore is the first country in Southeast Asia to levy acarbon tax,at $5 per ton, applicable for its largest carbon-emitting corporations that produce more than 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.[15]To reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels, it is building one of the world's largest floating solar farm at Tengeh Reservoir in Tuas, with a capacity of 60MW.[16]
Time zone[edit]
Although Singapore does not observe daylight saving time (DST), it follows theUTC+8time zone, one hour ahead of the typical zone for its geographical location.
| Daylight | ||
|---|---|---|
| February | July | November |
| 07:14 – 19:19 | 07:05 – 19:16 | 06:46 - 18:50 |
Geology[edit]
Igneous rocksare found inBukit TimahandWoodlandsandPulau Ubinisland. Granite makes up the bulk of the igneous rock.Gabbrois also found in the area and is found in an area calledLittle Guilinnamed for its resemblance to Guilin in Southern China. This area is in Bukit Gombak.Sedimentary rocksare found on the western part of Singapore and is mainly made ofsandstoneandmudstones.It also includes thesouthwesternarea.Metamorphic rocksare found in thenortheasternpart of Singapore and also onPulau Tekongoff the east coast of Singapore. The rocks are mainly made up ofquartziteand also make up theSajahat Formation.
Seismic activity[edit]
Singapore is relatively safe from seismic activity in the region, as the nearest majoractive faults(Sumatran fault and Sunda megathrust fault) are hundreds of kilometres away in Indonesia. However, the population and buildings are prone to being only very slightly affected by any activity as tremors, which is not uncommon, but generally does not do any harm and is limited to small amounts of swaying or vibration of objects.
In late 2004, several parts of Asia and Africa were struck by the2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeand the resulting tsunami. Singapore was fortunate as it was protected by theSumatralandmass, which bore the brunt of the tsunami; the effect on Singapore was limited to tremors felt in some of the common high-rise buildings there.
Political and human geography[edit]
When Singapore was first colonised by the British, theCity of Singaporewas situated on the southern coast, around the mouth of theSingapore River.This area remains theCentral Areaof Singapore. The rest of the island wasfarmlandand primaryrainforest.However, since the 1960s the government has constructed manynew townsin other areas, so that today the island is nearly entirely built-up andurbanised,with only a few exceptions, such as the district ofLim Chu Kangor reclaimed land in the process of being developed.
The country has several subdivisions, mostly used for administrative or statistical purposes. Politically, Singapore is divided into fiveadministrative districts,these are then further subdivided intotown councilswhich usually consists of one or morepolitical constituencies.However, unlike other countries wherelocal government subdivisionsare used to cite locations, the same practice is often uncommon in Singapore. Political boundaries fluctuate with everygeneral electionand thus, the areas they cover do not necessarily correspond to the local perception of a place. Most geographical regions, districts and neighbourhoods within the city-state are usually overlapping and can sometimes be arbitrarily defined. Planning and census boundaries, calledplanning areas,have been used by theUrban Redevelopment Authorityto define certain districts and neighbourhoods,[17]although these boundaries may not necessarily correspond with the common perception of a certain place. While boundaries fornew townsdo exist,[18]there have been instances where certain neighbourhoods can be identified separately from the town it is located in.Tiong Bahrufor example, is often identified separately from the HDB town it is a part of,Bukit Merah.
As the main government agency responsible for theurban planningof Singapore, the Urban Redevelopment Authority seeks to implement efficient land use and minimise pollution while maintaining convenient transport, which are Singapore's largest concerns because of its situation as a city-state. ADevelopment Guide Planfor each of the 55 planning areas has been released in the process.
In order to reduce traffic congestion,Electronic road pricing(ERP) has been enacted around entrances into the Central Area. The other parts of Singapore are less dense and busy, and are often filled with housing estates such as from theHousing and Development Board(HDB) orcondominiums,and commercial districts are less concentrated. However, to reduce strain on the Central Area, severalregional centreshave been developed, each containing a concentrated commercial district.
Light industry tends to be distributed around the island as industrial estates and located in flats, similar to the HDB, and only allowtenantswhich produce close to nil pollution, whereas heavy industry tends to be located aroundJurongandJurong Island.A list of such estates can be foundhere.
There are two connections to the state ofJohor,Malaysia. In the north there is acausewayfor both rail and road traffic, which connects to the city ofJohor Bahru.In the west there is a road bridge (Tuas Second Link), which connects to Johor, for road traffic only. The connections are an important economic link to Malaysia, which can be seen as a hinterland.
The causeway (1,038 m in length) was designed by Coode, Fizmaurice, Wilson and Mitchell of Westminster and constructed by Topham, Jones & Railton Ltd of London. It was started in 1909 as a railway link by Johor State Railway to connect Johor Bahru to Singapore, then the administrative headquarters of British interests in Southeast Asia. Construction of the road section started in 1919 and completed in 1923.
The causeway has caused ecological problems, most notably accumulation of silt in the Johore Strait. This has led to disagreements with Malaysia. Singapore has rejected Malaysia's proposal to replace the causeway with a bridge, and Malaysia has since proposed the idea of what became known as "the crooked half-bridge", descending halfway to link up with the low-level causeway.
Since Singapore lacks natural freshwater rivers and lakes, the primary source of domestic water is rainfall. Demand for fresh water is approximately twice that supplied by rainfall, so Singapore imports much of its fresh water from Malaysia and Indonesia. To lessen its reliance on imports, Singapore has built reservoirs to collect rainwater from both forest catchment and urban catchment run-offs and from recycled water facilities. In addition, Singapore has built three desalination plants on the western coast of Tuas with two more under construction. They are expected to at least meet 30% of Singapore's water demands in 2060. Recent plans to produceNEWater-recycled water from treatment by filtration viareverse osmosishave been very successful as the government has opened up three plants around the island to help meet the demand.
There are more than 300 parks and 4 nature reserves in Singapore. There are also many trees planted, and almost fifty per cent of the country is covered by greenery. Because of this, Singapore is also commonly known as the 'Garden City'.[19]
Singapore remains highly vulnerable to theimpact of climate change;in particular, the rising sea levels may pose a major threat to the very survival of the country in the long-term perspective.[20]
| Rank | Name | Region | Pop. | Rank | Name | Region | Pop. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bedok  Tampines |
1 | Bedok | East | 279,510 | 11 | Ang Mo Kio | North-East | 161,180 |  Jurong West  Sengkang |
| 2 | Tampines | East | 274,360 | 12 | Bukit Merah | Central | 149,530 | ||
| 3 | Jurong West | West | 259,740 | 13 | Pasir Ris | East | 146,930 | ||
| 4 | Sengkang | North-East | 257,190 | 14 | Bukit Panjang | West | 138,940 | ||
| 5 | Woodlands | North | 255,390 | 15 | Toa Payoh | Central | 134,610 | ||
| 6 | Hougang | North-East | 227,610 | 16 | Serangoon | North-East | 118,780 | ||
| 7 | Yishun | North | 228,910 | 17 | Geylang | Central | 114,750 | ||
| 8 | Choa Chu Kang | West | 191,480 | 18 | Sembawang | North | 109,120 | ||
| 9 | Punggol | North-East | 194,750 | 19 | Kallang | Central | 100,870 | ||
| 10 | Bukit Batok | West | 168,560 | 20 | Queenstown | Central | 99,690 | ||
References[edit]
- ^"Environment - Latest Data".Singapore Department of Statistics. 31 January 2023.Retrieved15 May2023.
- ^"Yearbook of Statistics Singapore 2017".Department of Statistics Singapore.Retrieved30 June2018.
- ^Singapore Government Weather System
- ^Meteorological Services Division, National Environmental Agencyhttp://www.nea.gov.sg
- ^"Historical Extremes | Temperature |".
- ^"Records of Climate Station Extreme".Weather Statistics.National Environment Agency.
- ^"More warm days, drier weather in May with highs of 35 °C".CNA.Retrieved7 December2021.
- ^"Records of Climate Station Means (Climatological Reference Period: 1991-2020)".National Environment Agency(Singapore).Retrieved5 August2021.
- ^"Historical Extremes".National Environment Agency(Singapore).Retrieved5 August2021.
- ^"Singapore/Changi Climate Normals 1991–2020".World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020).National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Archived fromthe originalon 1 August 2023.Retrieved1 August2023.
- ^"Records of Climate Station Extreme".Weather Statistics.National Environment Agency. Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2013.Retrieved30 September2015.
- ^"National Day Rally 2019: Three-pronged approach for Singapore to tackle climate change".The Straits Times.Singapore. 18 August 2019.[permanent dead link]
- ^Tanscience, Audrey (18 February 2020)."Singapore Budget 2020: New coastal and flood protection fund to protect".The Straits Times.Retrieved20 February2020.
- ^"Singapore Budget 2020: Push to promote electric vehicles in move to phase out petrol and diesel vehicles".The Straits Times.18 February 2020.Retrieved18 February2020.
- ^"Singapore Budget 2018: Carbon tax of $5 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions to be levied".The Straits Times.Singapore. 19 February 2018.
- ^"One of world's largest floating solar farms coming up in Tuas".The Straits Times.Singapore. 19 August 2020.
- ^"Planning Boundaries – Region, Planning Area and Subzone".Urban Redevelopment Authority.Retrieved27 August2016.
- ^HDB Key Statistics FY 2014/2015Archived4 March 2016 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Interesting facts of our Garden City".National Parks Board. Archived fromthe originalon 23 January 2012.Retrieved18 October2011.
- ^Overland, Indra et al. (2017)Impact of Climate Change on ASEAN International Affairs: Risk and Opportunity Multiplier,Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and Myanmar Institute of International and Strategic Studies (MISIS).
External links[edit]
- Meteorological Services Singapore
- Singapore Weather Forecast
- Climatology of Singapore– National Environment Agency
- CNN.com – Weather – Singapore
- Maps:
