Meteorological Service Singapore

Last updated

Meteorological Service Singapore
Meterological Services Singapore Logo.png
Meteorological Service Singapore logo
Agency overview
Formed1965 (1965)
Preceding agencies
  • Meteorological Branch, Malayan Survey Department
  • Malayan Meteorological Service
Jurisdiction Government of Singapore
HeadquartersRoom 048-033, 4th storey, Changi Airport Terminal 2, Singapore 819643 [1]
Agency executives
  • Wong Chin Ling, Director-General
  • Koh Li-Na, Assistant Chief Executive
Parent agency National Environment Agency
Website www.weather.gov.sg

Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) is the national meteorological service of Singapore. It is responsible for gathering and recording weather data across the country, issuing weather forecasts, and performing research into Singapore's weather and climate. It is a division of the National Environment Agency, a statutory board under the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. [2]

Contents

History

Formal record-keeping of weather data in Singapore began in 1869 with the efforts of the Medical Department of the Straits Settlements, whose initial purpose was to investigate a possible link between the spread of diseases and the local weather. [3] A weather station was set up in Outram that year to measure monthly rainfall, marking the beginning of the "climate station" used to compile climatological data for Singapore. [4] The responsibility for collecting weather data was assigned to a new Meteorological Branch under the Malayan Survey Department in 1927. [5] This became the Malayan Meteorological Service (MMS) in 1929, and gained new responsibilities for providing meteorological services (including forecasts and climate research) for the whole of British Malaya. The new MMS was to be headquartered in Fullerton Building. [3] A new "full-scale" weather station was erected at Mount Faber that year and was given the additional task of documenting temperature data, beginning Singapore's official temperature records. [5] In 1934, the climate station and MMS headquarters were moved to Kallang Airport so they could convey more accurate weather information to aircraft. [3]

The MMS functioned as usual during World War II and the Japanese occupation of Singapore in 1942–45. However, the Japanese destroyed the MMS's records and equipment prior to surrendering in 1945. Full service was restored only in 1947; [3] consequently, Singapore's climate records are missing temperature data from 1942–47. [4] With the resumption of full service, the MMS became an independent agency from the Malayan Survey Department. [3] A weather radar with a range of 240 km (150 mi) was set up at Kallang Airport in 1948, and an upper-air observatory was formed in 1953 to study the vertical profile of the atmosphere by releasing weather balloons. [5]

With Singapore's independence from Malaysia in 1965, the observation network in Singapore seceded from the MMS and became Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), administered by the Deputy Prime Minister's Office. [3] A year later, Singapore (represented by MSS) joined the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). [5] In 1968, administration of MSS was moved to the Ministry of Communications. In 1971, the MSS headquarters and climate station were moved to Paya Lebar Airport, [3] and began receiving satellite imagery the following year. [5] The opening of Changi Airport in 1981 saw the MSS headquarters and climate station relocated there, as well as an upgrade to the weather radar. [5] [3] The move coincided with a "multimillion-dollar computerisation programme" meant to ease the workload on meteorologists. [3]

In 1993, the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre (ASMC) was established with MSS as its host. The purpose of the ASMC was to help develop national meteorological institutions within ASEAN, [3] and today it provides monitoring and warning services for transboundary haze. [6] 1997 saw the installation of a lightning detection system and the weather radar at Changi Airport upgraded to a Doppler weather radar. [3] In 2002, administration of MSS was once again moved to the National Environment Agency under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (now the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment). The observation network was significantly expanded in 2009 with automated weather stations, [4] and the Doppler weather radar was upgraded the next year to have a range of 480 km (300 mi). [3] The Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS) was established in 2013, with its purpose to research tropical climates using computer models. [7] A "one-stop" website for the public to access weather information was launched in 2015, [8] and a similar mobile phone application in 2016. [9] The WMO opened a regional office in Singapore – hosted by MSS and colocated with the CCRS – in 2017, with the intention of bettering regional coordination on natural disasters. [10] A new supercomputer was acquired from Cray in 2022 to allow MSS to run more complex weather models. [11]

Organisation

MSS comprises four departments: [2]

MSS also hosts the ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre and a WMO Regional Office.

MSS's main office is located in Changi Airport's Terminal 2 building, [1] while the CCRS and WMO Regional Office are located in Tai Seng. [10]

Observations

The MSS observation network consists of five manned weather stations (including the climate station at Changi Airport), nearly 100 automated weather stations, and an upper-air observatory. Atmospheric soundings are taken twice a day from said observatory using radiosondes attached to weather balloons. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Meteorological Organization</span> Specialized agency of the United Nations

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Met Office</span> United Kingdoms national weather service

The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and is led by CEO Penelope Endersby, who took on the role as Chief Executive in December 2018 and is the first woman to do so. The Met Office makes meteorological predictions across all timescales from weather forecasts to climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paya Lebar Air Base</span> Military airbase in Singapore

The Paya Lebar Air Base is a military airbase of the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and Unites States Air Force in Singapore located at Airport Road in Paya Lebar, in the eastern region of Singapore. The airbase goes by the motto of Strength Through Readiness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Singapore</span>

Singapore is an island city-state and country in maritime Southeast Asia, located at the end of the Malayan Peninsula between Malaysia and Indonesia as well as the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. It is heavily compact and urbanised. As of 2023, Singapore has a total land area of 734.3 square kilometres (283.5 sq mi). Singapore is separated from Indonesia by the Singapore Strait and from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor.

The Bureau of Meteorology is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together the state meteorological services that existed before then. The states officially transferred their weather recording responsibilities to the Bureau of Meteorology on 1 January 1908.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutscher Wetterdienst</span> German weather service

The Deutscher Wetterdienst or DWD for short, is the German Meteorological Service, based in Offenbach am Main, Germany, which monitors weather and meteorological conditions over Germany and provides weather services for the general public and for nautical, aviational, hydrometeorological or agricultural purposes. It is attached to the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. The DWDs principal tasks include warning against weather-related dangers and monitoring and rating climate changes affecting Germany. The organisation runs atmospheric models on their supercomputer for precise weather forecasting. The DWD also manages the national climate archive and one of the largest specialised libraries on weather and climate worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PAGASA</span> National weather, climate, and astronomy bureau of the Philippines

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) agency of the Philippines mandated to provide protection against natural calamities and to ensure the safety, well-being and economic security of all the people, and for the promotion of national progress by undertaking scientific and technological services in meteorology, hydrology, climatology, astronomy and other geophysical sciences. Created on December 8, 1972, by reorganizing the Weather Bureau, PAGASA now serves as one of the Scientific and Technological Services Institutes of the Department of Science and Technology.

Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited (MetService) (Māori: Te Ratonga Tirorangi, lit. 'Satellite Service') is the national meteorological service of New Zealand. MetService was established as a state-owned enterprise in 1992. It employs about 300 staff, and its headquarters are in Wellington, New Zealand. Prior to becoming a state-owned enterprise, New Zealand's national meteorological service has existed in a number of forms since the appointment of the country's first Director of Meteorological Stations in August 1861.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan Meteorological Department</span>

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) (Urdu: محکمہ موسمیات پاکستان, also known as Pakistan Met Office), is an autonomous and independent institution tasked with providing weather forecasts and public warnings concerning weather for protection, safety and general information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Changi Airport</span> Largest commercial airport in Singapore

Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport, is a major international airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia. As one of the world's busiest airports by international passenger and cargo traffic, it has been rated as the "World's Best Airport" by Skytrax a dozen times, and currently holds the title, and was the first airport in the world to hold the accolade for eight consecutive years. It has also been rated as one of the world's cleanest airports and highly rated international transit airports. More than 100 airlines operate from the airport, with nonstop or direct flights to destinations in Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America.

The State Meteorological Agency is a state agency of the Government of Spain responsible for providing weather forecast, warnings of hazardous weather and assisting the administrations in such matters. The AEMET is part of the Secretariat of State for Environment of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and is headquartered in the University City, Madrid. The agency was known as Central Institute of Meteorology from 1887 to 1978 and National Institute of Meteorology from 1978 to 2008 when it adopted its current name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korea Meteorological Administration</span>

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) is the national meteorological service of the Republic of Korea. The service started in 1904 joining the WMO in 1956. Numerical Weather Prediction is performed using the Unified Model software suite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics</span>

The Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics is the national meteorological and geophysical service of Austria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service</span> National meteorological agency of Croatia

The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service is a public entity for meteorology, hydrology and air quality in Croatia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai</span> Research institute in Chennai

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuvalu Meteorological Service</span>

The Tuvalu Meteorological Service (TMS) is the principal meteorological observatory of Tuvalu and is responsible for providing weather services to the islands of Tuvalu. A meteorological office was established on Funafuti at the time the islands of Tuvalu were administered as parts of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony of the United Kingdom. The meteorological office is now an agency of the government of Tuvalu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdulla Al Mandous</span>

Abdulla Ahmed Al Mandous is the current President of WMO. Al Mandous was elected as WMO president for a four-year term from 2023 to 2027 by the representatives of WMO's 193 member states and territories which convened in Geneva for the body's 19th annual congress from 22 May to 2 June, 2023. Al Mandous is also Director General of the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), the government entity that provides statistical data and information on weather and climate to various entities and the public in the United Arab Emirates to carry out their daily functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palestinian Meteorological Department</span>

The Palestinian Meteorological Department (PMD), known as الأرصاد الجوية الفلسطينية in Arabic, is an organization that operates under the Ministry of Transportation. Its mission is to effectively utilize weather conditions to directly or indirectly serve various sectors of life and contribute to the development of the national economy in fields such as agriculture, water, energy, aviation, maritime navigation, scientific research, and public health. The first observations in Mandatory Palestine date from 1923, but the department was created in 1994 by the Palestinian National Authority after the Oslo Accords.

References

  1. 1 2 "About | Contact Us". Meteorological Service Singapore. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 "About | Our Organisation". Meteorological Service Singapore. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Lim Tin Seng (1 July 2020). "Cloudy With A Slight Chance of Rain: Singapore's Meteorological Service". BiblioAsia. National Library of Singapore. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "About the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS)". 2022 Annual Climate Assessment Report (PDF) (Report). Meteorological Service Singapore. March 2023. p. 26. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About | Our History". Meteorological Service Singapore. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  6. ↑ Begum, Shabana (29 May 2023). "Prolonged, intense heat expected from June to Oct, raising risk of haze, fires in south Asean". The New Paper. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  7. ↑ "Climate research centre in Singapore launched". Eco-Business. 27 March 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  8. ↑ Andrea Ng (20 May 2015). "Meteorological Service Singapore launches one-stop weather information website". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "MSS Releases Inaugural Annual Climate Assessment Report For Singapore And Launches Mobile Weather APP 'WEATHER@SG'". Meteorological Service Singapore. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  10. 1 2 Tang, Louisa (22 August 2017). "World Met Organisation opens regional office in Singapore". Today. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Tan, Aaron (28 October 2022). "Singapore's met service to get new supercomputer". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.