More rain and less haze for Singapore in weeks ahead
PUBLISHED ON OCT 27, 2014 5:52 PM
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Singapore can expect more rain and less haze in the coming weeks with the south-west monsoon season transitioning into inter-monsoon conditions. -- PHOTO: ST FILE
BY AMELIA TENG
SINGAPORE - Singapore can expect more rain and less haze in the coming weeks with the south-west monsoon season transitioning into inter-monsoon conditions.
The inter-monsoon season typically lasts from October to November and the weather during the period is characterised by more rainfall and light and variable winds.

The Meteorological Service Singapore said on Monday in an advisory that this transition signals the end of traditional dry season in the region, and the likelihood of transboundary haze affecting Singapore for the rest of the year will be low.
This is because the increased rainfall will help alleviate the hotspot and haze situation in
Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia.
The Met Services said that Singapore may experience occasional slight haze, mainly in the morning, on some days due to the accumulation of particulate matter in the air under light wind conditions. The haze situation is expected to improve further with the onset of the rainy season during the north-east monsoon in early December.
The Met Services also gave an update on the El Nino weather phenomenon based on forecasts from global climate models, saying that a weak El Nino is likely to develop towards the end of 2014 or early 2015. But past El Nino events that form at that time of the year have been shown to have less impact on rainfall patterns in Singapore and the nearby region, it said.
The El Nino refers to the abnormal warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean and is known to disrupt normal weather patterns in various regions of the world. In South-east Asia, its effect has been linked to prolonged drier and warmer weather.
As the haze situation has improved, the National Environment Agency (NEA) will stop issuing the daily Haze Forecast and Health Advisory after Monday, Oct 27.
Air quality readings will still be available hourly from 7am to 11pm at www.haze.gov.sg
, www.nea.gov.sg
and on the NEA's myENV mobile application. Air quality readings from 12am to 6am will also be made available at 7am on the same day.
NEA will continue to monitor the weather and haze situation in the region, and the public will be updated when necessary, the advisory said.
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Phenomenon that seemed like a waterspout spotted in Clementi on Tuesday morning
PUBLISHED ON OCT 28, 2014 11:15 AM
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A waterspout, a rotating column of air that occurs naturally over bodies of water, spotted in Clementi on Oct 28, 2014. --
PHOTO: CHIA PAK YUEN
BY YEO SAM JO
SINGAPORE - A phenomenon that seemed like a waterspout was spotted in Clementi on
Tuesday morning.
Freelance photographer Chia Pak Yuen, 57, snapped a photo of the sighting when he saw it from his kitchen window in Clementi Ave 5 at about 6.30am.
"I saw it moving and it was so beautiful," said the self-professed nature lover, adding that the phenomenon lasted for only about five minutes.

"I'd only seen it in books, never in real life."
Waterspouts are rotating columns of air that occur over water bodies. Usually appearing as funnel-shaped clouds, most are weak rather than tornadic in nature.
These vortices are sighted quite frequently in Singapore.
Earlier this year, users of citizen journalism website Stomp reported sightings at Khatib, Pasir
Ris and East Coast Park.
Last year, waterspouts were spotted in Woodlands, Kranji, Serangoon, Tuas and Jurong
Island. In 2009, some were also seen at East Coast Park, Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal and on
Pulau Ubin. yeosamjo@sph.com.sg
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Government plan won't save Great Barrier Reef: Australia scientists
PUBLISHED ON OCT 28, 2014 3:31 PM
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Australia's plans to protect the Great Barrier Reef are inadequate, short-sighted and will not prevent its decline, the country's pre-eminent grouping of natural scientists said Tuesday. -- PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's plans to protect the Great Barrier Reef are inadequate, shortsighted and will not prevent its decline, the country's pre-eminent grouping of natural scientists said Tuesday.
The draft plan, released for consultation last month, was supposed to allay concerns by the
United Nations about the reef's health after UNESCO threatened to put it on the World
Heritage "in danger" list.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt has said the proposal reflects an effort to balance the priorities of protecting the reef, which is teeming with marine life, and long-term sustainable development.
But the Australian Academy of Science warned that the plan ignored the impact of climate change and failed to address problems with poor water quality, coastal development and fishing.
"The science is clear, the reef is degraded and its condition is worsening. This is a plan that won't restore the reef, it won't even maintain it in its already diminished state," academy fellow Terry Hughes said.

"The plan also seems overly focused on the short-term task of addressing UNESCO's concerns about the reef's World Heritage Listing, rather than the longer-term challenges of restoring the values of the reef."
Hughes said while the plan identified targets for reducing harmful agricultural run-off, any improvements would likely be lost in the unprecedented amount of dredging for coal ports and the Queensland state government's plans to double agricultural production by 2040.
The survival of the reef depended on a reduction in pollution from run-off and dredging, less fishing and a decrease in carbon emissions from fossil fuels, he said.
A spokesman for Minister Hunt said the "Reef 2050 Long-Term Sustainability Plan" states the government's vision to improve the health of the reef over successive decades.
"We note the Academy is calling for such a vision, and it is front and centre of what we are working to achieve," he said.
He said the plan acknowledged that climate change was a global problem requiring global action, and was being addressed by the government through other policies.
The draft, prepared by the Australian and Queensland governments, calls for greater coordination between authorities in relation to the reef, a proposal welcomed by environmentalists.
It also urges a 10-year ban on dredging to develop new ports or to expand existing ones both inside and next to the World Heritage site - apart from in priority port development areas.
And it bans future port developments in the Fitzroy Delta, Keppel Bay and North Curtis
Island near Rockhampton - areas of the reef described by environmentalists as key incubators of marine life.
But environmentalists have criticised the draft as not setting high enough targets for cutting agricultural pollution or providing the billions of dollars required to restore the health of the reef.
With the government's final reef plan due in December, WWF-Australia and the Australian
Marine Conservation Society called for stronger action to protect the major tourist attraction.
"The reef is one of the world's great natural wonders and we cannot allow it to be turned into an industrial park and a shipping super-highway," campaigner Felicity Wishart said.

The colourful coral faces a number of pressures including climate change, poor water quality from land-based runoff, the crown-of-thorns starfish, which eat coral, and the impacts of coastal development and fishing.
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