Extreme heat in Singapore
A city-state with hot nights, dense towers and an early national heat stress advisory.
Heat type. Humid heat, all year round.
Heat action plan Heat plan in force
Singapore launched a national Heat Stress Advisory in July 2023. It rates heat stress as low, moderate or high from the wet-bulb globe temperature, and tells people what to do at each level.
Vicious cycles the evidence ties to Singapore
| Cycle | Why here | One action that breaks it |
|---|---|---|
| The sleepless-nights loop | Singapore has averaged 76 warm nights a year over four decades; by 2100 they could come on most nights. | Cool nights and support |
| The cooling trap | The commercial centre has measured up to about 7 °C warmer than the outskirts on calm, clear nights. | Cool by design |
| The dying-green loop | Among the cities where the most urban tree species already face temperatures beyond their range. | Keep city trees alive |
| The invisible-deaths loop | Workplace monitors found more heat stress than nearby weather stations reported. | Count every heat death |
Who heat hits hardest here
- Workers in heat-exposed jobs
- Older people
A worked plan to learn from
Singapore’s heat rules for outdoor work (Singapore, 2023 onwards)
Already at work here
- National Environment Agency, Singapore
- Ministry of Manpower, Singapore
- Singapore Management University, Urban Institute
- National Research Foundation, Singapore
- Monetary Authority of Singapore
- C40 Cities
Listing does not imply partnership, affiliation or endorsement.
Four questions for Singapore’s heat plan
- Is it funded, with a named owner?
- Does it assess who is most vulnerable, and where they live?
- Does it have legal backing, so departments are required to act?
- Does it count indoor and night-time heat, not only daytime highs?
Official warnings: Meteorological Service Singapore · Today’s heat and the week ahead: beattheheat.asia/#city-singapore
Sources
- Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, 2023. mse.gov.sg/latest-news/press-release-heat-stress-advisory
- Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), 2025. ceew.in/sites/default/files/ceew-how-extreme-heat-is-impacting-india-final-web-file.pdf
- Cooling Singapore, citing Chow and Roth, 2006. thegpsc.org/sites/gpsc/files/cooling_singapore_-_digital_urban_climate_twin.pdf
- Esperon-Rodriguez et al., Nature Climate Change, 2022. vibrantcitieslab.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/climate-change-increases-global-risk-to-urban-forests.pdf
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, reply in India’s Rajya Sabha, 2024. rsdebate.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/750681/1/PQ_265_06082024_U1693_p358_p362.pdf
- Centre for Policy Research, 2023. cprindia.org/briefsreports/how-is-india-adapting-to-heatwaves-an-assessment-of-heat-action-plans-with-insights-for-transformative-climate-action