Singapore Weather Records
A hot, wet, equatorial climate does not mean a boring one. Here are the extremes that stand out in Singapore's weather history.
Hottest temperature: 37.0°C
Singapore's highest recorded temperature is 37.0°C, first set in April 1983 and then matched on 13 May 2023, at Ang Mo Kio — four decades later. That the record held for 40 years and was equalled rather than smashed reflects how the ocean-moderated equatorial climate keeps daytime highs within a fairly narrow band, even as the long-term average creeps upward.
Relentless warmth, narrow range
What makes Singapore's heat notable is not extreme peaks but its persistence. Daily highs typically sit around 31–33°C almost every day of the year, and nights rarely drop far, thanks to the humidity and the urban heat island. The combination of heat and moisture is what makes the weather feel so oppressive — explore why on our heat index calculator.
Rainfall extremes
Singapore is genuinely wet, averaging well over 2,000 millimetres of rain a year with no true dry season. Individual storms can be ferocious: intense convective downpours have dropped a large fraction of a month's rain in a single day, driving the flash floods described on our flooding in Singapore page. The wettest stretch of the year is typically the early Northeast Monsoon in December.
Wind extremes
With no tropical cyclones, Singapore's strongest surface winds come from thunderstorms. Sumatra squalls routinely gust to 40–80 km/h, with recorded maximum gusts around 93 km/h — enough to topple trees and cause real damage, even though it falls short of hurricane strength.
The rarest record: closest cyclone to the equator
Singapore also sits beside a genuine world record it would rather not hold a repeat of. In December 2001, Typhoon Vamei formed just 1.4 degrees north of the equator and struck about 60 kilometres away in Malaysia — the closest to the equator any tropical cyclone has ever been observed to develop.
Singapore extremes at a glance
| Record | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Highest temperature | 37.0°C | 1983, matched May 2023 |
| Typical daily high | ~31–33°C | Year-round |
| Annual rainfall | ~2,000+ mm | No dry season |
| Squall gusts | up to ~93 km/h | Sumatra squalls |
| Nearest-equator cyclone | 1.4°N | Typhoon Vamei, 2001 |
Figures are drawn from widely reported climate records; consult the Meteorological Service Singapore for official, up-to-date values.