Cold snap in S'pore

By Sumathi V Selvaretnam and Tania Tan
14 March 2008
Straits Times

TALK about a chill in the air.

Thermostats here are being turned up as Singaporeans throw on sweaters and jackets to beat the 'coldest' March in 74 years: The average temperature so far this month is 25.6 deg C, a tick higher than the 25 deg C in 1934.

Singapore dipped to its coldest of 19.4 deg C on Jan 30, 1934.

On Thursday night, the mercury dipped to 21.8 deg C - about the average day-time temperature in wintry Hong Kong.

The 'cold snap' has resulted in some things one does not typically see - or hear - in Singapore. Children bundled up like Eskimos and office workers coming to work in woollies.

But Solutions architect Sivaram Shunmugam, 29, likes it cool.

'Normally it is hot, humid and uncomfortable. Not now. Finally, a temperature I can live with!' he said.

Neither is Colin Wan, 34, complaining.

'It's like a regular English day. I get to wear winter clothes like my jumpers and cardigans that I thought I would never need in Singapore,' said the advertising executive from Britain who has been living here for five years.

The cool spell stems from the prolonged heavy rain and dense cloud, said Associate Professor Matthias Roth of the National University of Singapore's Department of Geography.

'It's more difficult for sunlight to penetrate the thick cloud cover - so the ground cools after a few days,' he explained.

The freakishly wet weather is due to a strong La Nina effect, explained Dr Roth. Caused by a cycle of cooling air over the Pacific Ocean, the weather phenomenon usually results in cooler, wetter weather.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) says next week will continue to be wet, with moist winds blowing in from the ocean.

After The Floods, Illness Looms

Aug 11 2007 (TODAY)

DHAKA - Health workers in Bangladesh battled diarrhoea and cholera on
Friday as international aid began to flow into South Asia to help millions
lacking water and food after the worst monsoon floods in decades.

The death toll was well above 2,000 on Friday with at least 16 more
deaths reported in Bangla-desh and 19 in India's Bihar state overnight.

Rains have halted from southern Nepal to Bangladesh in the east. The focus
now is on combating a host of water-borne diseases, health officials said.

At Bangladesh's biggest diarrhoea hospital in the capital Dhaka, doctors
like Mr Alejandro Cravioto were working around the clock amid hundreds of
extra beds under tents to help flood victims.

"It's like a war-zone situation," he said.

Several countries and international agencies have pledged assistance and
money to help victims in South Asia, including the European Union which
has put up an initial four million euros ($8.3 million).

Meanwhile, a senior United Nations official said that serious flooding
affects 500 million people every year.

He said that it has become a major problem not just in Asian countries
with annual monsoons and typhoons, but in countries like Sudan, Colombia,
Ethiopia and Afghanistan. According to the UN, 83 per cent of disaster
victims last year lived in Asia.

Assistant Secretary-General Margareta Wahlstrom, the UN deputy emergency
relief coordinator, added that floods and weather-related disasters
accounted for 59 per cent of all reported disasters last year.

Between 2004 and 2006, there was an increase from 200 to 400 emergencies,
with the number of floods increasing from 60 to over 100, she said. This
year, there have been about 70 floods up to August, she said.

The UN cited as examples the July heat wave in Europe, the cyclone in Oman
in June, and floods this summer in Sudan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, South Asia,
Afghanistan and Colombia. - Agencies

Singapore may be spared from haze this year: NEA

By Foo Siew Shyan, Channel NewsAsia
06 July 2007

SINGAPORE: Singapore may be spared from the peak of the haze that is currently shrouding Sumatra and northern Malaysia because favourable weather conditions are expected for the rest of the year, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

NEA is forecasting a slightly wetter-than-usual weather from now till September.

The El Nino situation, which brought with it drier days last year, is not expected to kick in this time round.

Joseph Hui, Director General, Environmental Protection, NEA, said: "This year, the forecast is that we are likely to get neutral or weak La Nina. La Nina is slightly wetter than usual, so with this forecast, the likelihood is that we will get slightly more rainfall than last year."

Singapore has been spared from the smog so far as the prevailing south to southeasterly winds have kept the smoke away.

The same wind direction is also expected over the next few days.

But in the long term, other forces may come into play.

Wong Chin Ling, Chief Meteorological Officer, NEA, said: "It's difficult to know when and where the fires will occur. Fires are essentially started through human activities."

Singapore has come up with a masterplan to help Indonesia's Jambi province to tackle the haze and reduce slash-and-burn activities, and work is underway to formalise the agreement with Indonesia.

Mr Hui said: "We are actively involved in working out this letter of intent. We are waiting for them to come back to us and hopefully finalise it soon."

A meeting of environment officials from both countries may be held as early as next week.


- CNA/so

Haze in two weeks' time?

By Nazry Bahrawi in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, TODAY
20 June 2007

Somewhere on an open airstrip in Riau, an airplane is ready to spring into action as a fire-fighting machine. The AT602 plane, used more frequently to spray fertiliser on plantations, can also carry about 2,400 litres of water — enough to help douse fires in the haze-prone region.

But, it hasn't been busy on that front lately. Its owner, pulp and paper manufacturer Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (April), had offered to share the one-seater plane with the Riau authorities to control fires about three months ago. The firm has yet to receive a reply.

"We proposed it in March this year but they (the Riau government) haven't signed it yet. They probably will once the fire starts," said Mr Brad Sanders, head of fire and safety at the Singapore-based April.

And that would be soon — the haze period is slated to start in two weeks' time. Officials from five Asean countries, including Singapore, are in Jambi to hear how Indonesia plans to tackle the problem this year (see box).

Forest fires in parts of Indonesia, such as the Riau and Jambi provinces in Sumatra, are largely the cause of the transboundary haze that had hit Asean in the past few years. Last October, Singapore's haze situation reached unhealthy PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) levels — between 101 to 200.

With two weeks left to the dry season, farmers in Riau are preparing to clear their lands using the inexpensive slash-and-burn method — inevitably leading to forest fires — again.

Last year, the province recorded almost 9,000 hotspots, said Mr Sanders. But only about 2 per cent of these took place within April's plantation areas, which measures more than twice the size of Singapore.

And this is not solely because of their fire-fighting capabilities, which includes another 70 full-time fire-fighters, 20 pick-up trucks, an airboat and a helicopter, said Mr Sanders. This, he believes, is also due to April's active attempts to provide economically viable avenues for locals living in its jurisdiction to steer clear of slash and burn practices.

He said: "We help communities develop small profitable enterprises such as haircut shops and honey production. So, people have other sources of income other than the agrarian-based one. There will be a lesser chance of them resorting to slash and burn."

But there is only so much one company can do.

A large part of the problem in tackling the haze situation boils down to bureaucracy and a lack of political will — at all levels. "In Indonesia, there is really no system in place to respond to all the sources of fire at one time. The problem here is that the people want the fires to burn. They are lighting them on purpose to clear the land. ... It's a conundrum," said Mr Sanders.

He also cited the inefficient use of two fire-fighting airplanes that the Indonesian government leased from Russia late last year: "By the time they (the airplanes) arrived, the rainy season had already started. They spent US$5.2 million ($8 million) and it wasn't used effectively, unfortunately."

Mr Fitrian Ardiansyah, programme director of climate and energy for WWF Indonesia, believes Indonesia's commitment to reduce the number of hotspots by 50 per cent this year is a "big challenge".

He told Today: "Transforming political pledge to action on the ground requires more than just willingness. Infrastructure and coordination to prevent and fight fires need to be under one command. Nowadays, the blame game is still happening among different sectors and levels — that is, between the central and local governments." - TODAY/sh

FINGERS CROSSED IN JAMBI

It has promised to reduce its hotspots by 50 per cent this year.

And today will see Indonesia updating its immediate neighbours of its progress towards achieving this objective.

Representatives from five Asean countries – Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia – are in Jambi to attend the third meeting of the sub-regional steering committee on the transboundary haze pollution.

Singapore's Minister of Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaacob Ibrahim – leading the Singapore delegation – told reporters last week that he hopes Indonesia can keep their promise.

He also said that Singapore had submitted to Indonesia a haze masterplan that covers fire prevention and suppression, legislation and enforcement as well as regional and international collaboration.

But Indonesian Forestry Minister M S Kaban was quoted by its national news Antara as saying that he had not received the proposal.

Waterspouts spotted off east coast of Singapore

By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia
12 June 2007



SINGAPORE: More waterspouts have been spotted in Singapore.

Callers to the MediaCorp News hotline reported seeing several off the east coast.

There was no calm before the storm, as dark clouds over SAF Yacht Club at Changi spun into tower-high water spouts.

And eyewitnesses say they saw more than one spinning off the waters of Singapore.

"From where I stood, it was about 10 storeys high. There were three of them. They were about a few metres away from each other. There was one more that was forming. We could see water spinning at the top but it wasn't fully formed yet at the bottom," says Ariff Wahid from the SAF Yacht Club.

"There were a lot of waterspouts coming near to the club. But actually it was very far. It started to disappear half an hour later. It was spinning very fast towards one of the big ships there," says Fadilah Hajis, a member of staff at the SAF Yacht Club.

About 20 people including staff and guests at the club spotted the phenomenon from as early as 10 in the morning.

Most said it lasted for about half an hour before heavy rain took over.

The last time something similar was reported was at East Coast Park in late May 2007.

The National Environment Agency confirmed Tuesday's sighting. - CNA/yy

Expect more wet weather in next three days despite dry spells

By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia
26 February 2007

SINGAPORE : It has been a drier-than-usual February. In fact, the first 12 days of this month saw no rainfall over most parts of central and eastern Singapore.

The meteorological service says the generally dry weather has also affected many parts of the region, including Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia.

But some parts of Singapore got a reprieve on Monday afternoon - a short but windy storm swept through the island and caused some damage at least in one area.

The rains uprooted a tree in Soo Chow Garden Road, off Upper Thomson.

No one was hurt but the tree fell on some parked motorcycles.

The metrological station says more afternoon showers with thunder are expected in the next three days.

This is due to the transition to the northeast monsoon season, which brings occasional strong winds.

The metrological station says the rains will help subdue the hotspot activities in Sumatra and Kalimantan.

As of 4pm on Monday, the average PSI reading stood at 37, in the good range.

But on the whole, February will be one of the driest month Singapore has seen. - CNA /ls

Dry spell in Feb, with expected rainfall much lower than average

By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia
13 February 2007 2042 hrs

SINGAPORE: It has been unusually dry this February – a sharp contrast to the heavy rains that lashed out only a few weeks ago.

The Meteorological Services said little or no rainfall was recorded over most parts of Singapore in the first 12 days of February.

Historic average rainfall for February was 162.7mm, but two-thirds of Singapore received less than 5mm of rain in first 12 days of this month.

But Singapore was not the only area affected.

Parts of Western Malaysia and Sumatra have also reported little rain.

It is likely going to be a dry and sunny Lunar New Year weekend, although scattered showers are expected in some afternoons. - CNA/so