Singapore experiences warmest year on record in 2024

According to the agency’s annually report released on March 23, every month in 2024 was equal to or warmer than its corresponding long-term average temperature. Temperature records were broken on several occasions during the year, with record high daily minimum temperatures in February and record high daily maximum temperatures in December.

The preceding decade from 2015 to 2024 was the country’s warmest decade on record, at 28.11 degrees Celsius. This was 0.05 degrees Celsius warmer than the decade from 2014 to 2023, and the fourth consecutive year that Singapore’s decadal mean temperature record had been broken.

The report emphasized that while climate change contributed to warmer temperatures, climate variability in 2024 also played a role.

The El Niño event that developed in 2023 and ended in the second quarter of 2024 likely contributed to the warm temperatures in 2024, including during Singapore’s hot season (March – May), which was the third warmest hot season on record, after 1998 and 2016 which were also associated with strong El Niño events.

It is noted that Singapore’s annual temperature trend in 2024 was similar to the global trend recently reported by the World Meteorological Organization. Accordingly, the year 2024 was declared the warmest year on record globally since 1850.