Singapore sits almost on the equator, just over one degree north at approximately 1.35°N, 103.82°E, and that position defines its weather completely. It has a tropical rainforest climate — hot, humid, and rainy all year round — with remarkably little month-to-month variation in temperature. Instead of summer and winter, the year is shaped by two monsoon seasons and the inter-monsoon periods between them.

Because the sun stays high year-round, daytime temperatures are consistently warm rather than seasonal, typically reaching about 31–32°C and rarely climbing above 35–36°C. The hottest, most uncomfortable stretch is usually the inter-monsoon period from around March to early June, when winds fall calm and the humidity becomes oppressive. Humidity is the defining feature of Singapore's climate: the mean is around 82%, often exceeding 90% before dawn and reaching 100% during prolonged rain, so the heat almost always feels heavier than the thermometer suggests. The urban heat island keeps the city warm even at night.

There is no cold season. Night-time lows hold steady around 24–26°C throughout the year and have essentially never fallen below about 19°C in the historical record. December and January are marginally the coolest months, brought down slightly by the wetter Northeast Monsoon, but cooler here still means warm and humid by any temperate standard.

Rain is abundant and frequent — Singapore records rain on around 170 days a year and averages roughly 2,100–2,400 mm annually. The wettest period runs from November to January during the wet phase of the Northeast Monsoon, while February is typically the driest month. Much of the rain arrives as heavy, short-lived afternoon downpours accompanied by thunder. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Thunderstorms are a signature of Singapore's weather, occurring on a large share of days and giving the city-state one of the highest rates of lightning activity in the world. Sudden Sumatra squalls — organised lines of pre-dawn thunderstorms drifting in from the west — are common during the Southwest Monsoon, and afternoon storms are driven by intense surface heating and the sea breeze.

To follow any single measurement in Singapore more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.