Singapore likely to have wettest December in
recent years
Published on Dec 07, 2013
7:11 AM
This month could be the wettest December in Singapore in several years. -- ST FILE PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
By Feng Zengkun Environment Correspondent
This month could be the wettest December here in several years. The amount of rain recorded for the first
four days of this month is already about half that seen for the full month in 2011 and last year.
About 164mm of rain came down between Sunday and Wednesday, compared with about 285mm for
December 2011 and 363mm for December last year.
The heaviest rainfall ever recorded for December was 766mm in 2006.
The Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) predicted in October that the rainfall for this month and next
could exceed the long-term averages of about 298mm for December and 243mm for January by up to 20
per cent.
Weather models forecast a slightly more active north-east monsoon season, with possibly more
thunderstorms and monsoon surges.
The season's wet phase typically occurs between mid-November and January. A monsoon surge occurs
when winds over the South China Sea grow stronger during the season, resulting in prolonged heavy rain.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on its website that short, thundery showers are expected on
six to eight days in the first half of this month, and that periods of moderate to heavy rain are likely on two
to three days over this period.
Asked if Singapore might experience the type of flooding seen recently in Malaysia, MSS said heavy rain
from the latest monsoon surge affected mostly the eastern coastal states of Peninsular Malaysia.
"Singapore was less affected," it said.
However, the NEA said in a monsoon update on its website on Tuesday that people should not take the
weather lightly.
"When a monsoon surge is affecting the region, moderate to strong winds can be expected, in particular
over sea areas. Moderate to rough sea conditions can also be expected. Outdoor enthusiasts should take
necessary precautions when out at sea," it said.
Mr Richard Tan, president of the Singapore Life Saving Society, said that even during normal weather,
currents in the sea could carry people very far from shore and make it difficult for them to swim back to
land.
He recommended that people leave the water immediately when weather and sea conditions turn rough.
Swimmers who insist on continuing should not swim alone. They should also make sure there is a
lifeguard on duty.
zengkun@sph.com.sg
Flood situation worsens in Malaysia's east
coast
Published on Dec 06, 2013
4:28 PM
A car is submerged in Sungai Isap river in Kuantan, about 300 km (186 miles) outside Kuala Lumpur, on early Dec 6, 2013.
The flood situation in the east coast of the peninsula worsened on Friday afternoon, Dec 6, 2013, even as the number of
evacuees climbed to 42,626, up from 37,136 the day before. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
KUALA LUMPUR - The flood situation in the east coast of the peninsula worsened on Friday afternoon,
even as the number of evacuees climbed to 42,626, up from 37,136 the day before.
According to national news agency Bernama, Pahang bore the brunt of the monsoon with people heading
to relief centres in eight districts.
Kuantan saw the most people displaced, while smaller numbers were reported in Pekan, Rompin, Maran,
Jerantut, Lipis, Temerloh and Bera.
A state police spokesman told Bernama that several main roads were remain closed as water levels reached
up to a metre.
More than 2,000 people from Kelantan's Rantau Panjang, Tanah Merah and Kuala Krai also headed to
relief centres.
Water levels were in the rivers in that area were reported to be subsiding, and no main road had been
closed off according to Bernama.
Over at Terengganu, the areas most affected were Kemaman, Dungun, Setiu, Marang and Hulu
Terengganu according to the National Security Council's portal.
More than 6,000 people from these districts were forced to flee the floods.
The floods have claimed the lives of at least two people so far according to other reports.
Waters are expected to subside on Friday, said Malaysian Meteorological Department earlier.
Smog at extremely hazardous levels in
Shanghai
Published on Dec 06, 2013
4:42 PM
An electronic screen and buildings are seen amid heavy smog at the financial district of Pudong in Shanghai on Friday, Dec
6, 2013. Shanghai authorities have ordered youth indoors and halted construction as China's financial hub suffers one of its
worst bouts of air pollution, bringing visibility down to a few dozen meters and obscuring its spectacular skyline. -- PHOTO:
REUTERS
SHANGHAI (AP) - Shanghai authorities have ordered youth indoors and halted construction as China's
financial hub suffers one of its worst bouts of air pollution, bringing visibility down to a few dozen meters
and obscuring its spectacular skyline.
Authorities say the city's concentration of tiny, harmful PM 2.5 particles was 602.5 micrograms per cubic
meter early Friday afternoon, an extremely hazardous level.
That compares with the World Health Organization's safety guideline of 25 micrograms.
Experts blame Shanghai's pollution on coal emissions in the region combined with weather patterns that
have left the city's air stagnant.
Flights delayed on record Shanghai air
pollution
Published on Dec 06, 2013
6:26 PM
An aircraft is barely visible through thick smog on the tarmac of Hongqiao airport in Shanghai as severe pollution blankets
the city on Friday, Dec 6, 2013. Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled on Friday in China's commercial hub of
Shanghai as record levels of air pollution shrouded the city in smog, prompting authorities to issue the highest level of health
warning. -- PHOTO: AFP
SHANGHAI (REUTERS) - Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled on Friday in China's
commercial hub of Shanghai as record levels of air pollution shrouded the city in smog, prompting
authorities to issue the highest level of health warning.
The incident is especially embarrassing at a time when China seeks to build Shanghai into a global
business hub on par with the likes of London, New York and Hong Kong by 2020.
On Friday afternoon, the Shanghai government issued its severest health warning as the city's pollution
index ranged between 23 times and 31 times the levels recommended by international health officials.
In the first such advice since a new health warning system was launched in April, authorities urged
residents to stay indoors and asked factories to either cut or halt production.
"I don't think it's fit for people to live in this kind of environment," said Shanghai resident Fan Jianjun, 34,
who wore a face mask as he walked through the opaque air in the Lujiazui financial district.
"But I have no choice. I still need to work. I can only take preventive measures but I have no idea whether
they work."
Air quality in cities is of increasing concern to China's stability-obsessed leaders, anxious to douse
potential unrest as more affluent citizens turn against a growth-at-all-costs economic model that has
polluted much of the country's air, water and soil.
The government has announced many plans to fight pollution over the years but has made little apparent
progress.
Most of the flights leaving Shanghai's Pudong International Airport have been delayed, according to the
airport's website.
Pudong was the world's third busiest cargo airport in 2011, data from the Airports Council International
shows.
Hazardous air pollution forced schools to shut or suspend outdoor activities in at least two cities in eastern
China on Thursday. Some schools in Shanghai cancelled outdoor activities on Friday, as well.
The unusually noxious haze was caused by several factors, including industrial pollution and auto
emissions trapped by cold, windless weather, said associate professor Xu Bin at Shanghai's Tongji
University.
By 0700 GMT, the level of PM2.5 particulate matter, or tiny particles in the air that are the most hazardous
to health, reached a "severely polluted" 466, according to the Shanghai government's monitoring website,
http:www.semc.gov.cn/aqi/home/English.aspx.
A similar measure by the US consulate in Shanghai showed a reading of 503, a level described as being
beyond the index on its website http:www.stateair.net/web/post/1/4.html.
Levels above 300 are considered hazardous, while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily
level of no more than 20.