SINGAPORE: Singapore has launched a S$25 million (US$18.5 million) research programme to better understand and improve its ability to predict extreme weather events, including Sumatra squalls and other climate-related phenomena.
Announced by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) on Tuesday (Mar 4), the Weather Science Research Programme aims to advance weather prediction capabilities in Singapore’s tropical urban environment.
The initiative is funded under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) 2025 plan and is open for proposals from local research institutions, with projects expected to be awarded in the second half of 2025.
RIE2025 builds on past plans in 2015 and 2020 to tackle a broader spectrum of national needs, improve Singapore’s scientific capabilities and strengthen support for companies and establish new technology translation platforms.
The government has allocated S$25 billion – or about 1 per cent of Singapore’s GDP – for the RIE2025 plan for the period of 2021 to 2025.
Climate change poses significant challenges for Singapore and the wider Southeast Asian region, MSE said on Tuesday. The third national climate change study released in January last year projected rising temperatures for Singapore, more extreme wet and dry periods, and increasing sea levels by the end of the century.
In September last year, a Sumatra squall brought strong winds and heavy rain to Singapore, toppling trees, causing traffic disruptions and damaging property. This prompted authority to issue an advisory urging employers to prepare for erratic and sudden weather changes.
“Singapore is located in the deep tropics where weather prediction is particularly challenging, due to the complexity of dominant local weather processes like thunderstorms and fine-scale interactions with local features such as coasts and the urban landscape,” said MSE.
source: CNA
