Singapore’s climate swung from some of its wettest months on record to its hottest in 2025, reflecting global findings that the Earth’s climate is more unbalanced than ever observed.
The city state recorded its wettest-ever March and hottest-ever June and November last year, breaking several rainfall and temperature records, according to Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS).
Although 2025 began with wet, cool weather due to the La Niña phenomenon and northeastern monsoon surges, this shifted from May onwards towards Singapore’s warmest June and and November on record, data from MSS’ 2025 Annual Climate Assessment Report.
“November saw multiple temperature records broken, including the highest-ever November temperature of 36°C recorded at Newton on 1 November during an exceptionally warm and dry period,” MSS said in a statement.
Last November was also Singapore’s warmest since 1929, nearly 100 years ago, the agency added. As a result, heat stress readings in Singapore shattered records, with the wet bulb globe temperature reaching 35°C at Sentosa on 31 October.
The wet bulb temperature is when it is too hot and humid for the body to cool by sweating.
Overall, Singapore’s average temperature in 2025 was 28.1°C, making it the eighth warmest year on record alongside 2010 and 2002, MSS said in a statement.
“Despite temporary cooling by La Niña in 2025, the warming trend continues both globally and in Singapore,” it said.
In 2025, Singapore recorded its hottest month ever in June and November, and its wettest month ever in March, according to data from the 2025 Annual Climate Assessment Report. Image: Meteorological Service Singapore
The report’s publication coincided with the launch of the World Meteorological Organisation’s (WMO’s) State of the Global Climate 2025 report, announced on World Meteorological Day on Monday.
WMO’s report found that the 2015-2025 period was the world’s hottest 11 years on record, with the concentration of heat-trapping greenhouse gasses at their highest level in at least 800,000 years.
“Under a stable climate, incoming energy from the sun is about the same as the amount of outgoing energy,” WMO said. However, the current “energy imbalance” is at its highest since records began in 1960, with heat having accumulated over time.
Over 91 per cent of this excess heat is stored in the ocean, with only 5 per cent stored in continental land masses and 1 per cent felt by humans through the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere near its surface.
Another 3 per cent of excess energy is warming and melting ice sheets, which together with ocean warming is driving sea-level rise, WMO added.
“Human activities are increasingly disrupting the natural equilibrium and we will live with these consequences for hundreds and thousands of years,” said WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo in a press statement.
The world experienced its hottest 11 years on record between 2015 and 2025, according to data in the report State of the Global Climate 2025. Image: World Meteorological Organisation
Heat stress on the rise
WMO’s report also highlighted wide-ranging impacts on human health from the extreme weather patterns, including higher risks of mental health stressors and diseases such as dengue.
Heat stress is also a growing problem, with more than a third of the global workforce or 1.2 billion people facing workplace heat risk at some point each year, especially in agriculture and construction.
“In addition to health impacts, this leads to productivity and livelihood losses,” WMO said.
“There is an urgent need to integrate meteorological and climate data with health information systems to allow decision-makers to move from reactive response towards proactive prevention which saves lives,” it added.
In an interactive version of its report, WMO said that there are many options to alleviate the impacts of climate change, through both mitigation and adaptation.
Singapore in particular has seen its Ministry for Sustainability and the Environment designate 2026 as the ‘Year of Climate Adaptation’. The country’s first National Adaptation Plan was outlined in its recent budget, with the full plan targeted for release in 2027.
Globally, the WMO highlighted the importance of early warning systems to alert people to when hazardous weather is on its way, informing responses by governments, communities and individuals.
“However, even if adaptation is improved, the climate will continue to change unless the underlying drivers are addressed,” it added. “Without immediate and deep greenhouse gases emissions reductions across all sectors and regions, it will be impossible to keep warming below 1.5° C.”
The report therefore urged an urgent transition towards renewable energy sources and an increase in climate finance, among other measures, to address the world’s energy imbalance.
