SINGAPORE – The mercury hit 37 deg C in Ang Mo Kio on Saturday, tying the all-time mark for the highest daily maximum temperature in Singapore, which was recorded in Tengah on April 17, 1983.

It is also the highest recorded temperature for the month of May, and the hottest day in 2023.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, the National Environment Agency said the previous high for the month of May was 36.7 deg C, recorded in Admiralty in 2022.

The weatherman added that temperatures breached the 36 deg C mark in several parts of the island on Saturday.

NEA said the warm and dry conditions are expected to continue on Sunday, but short-duration showers are expected next week, which may help to ease the heat and humidity.

Saturday was the second day in a row that the mercury hit a record high in 2023. On Friday, Singapore registered a high of 36.2 deg C in Choa Chu Kang.

The year’s previous high was recorded on April 14, when the temperature hit 36.1 deg C in Woodlands.

Singapore’s temperature records started in 1929.

The Meteorological Service Singapore had earlier forecast that the warm and humid weather experienced in April was expected to continue into the first half of May.

In a statement on May 2, it said: “May is normally one of the warmest months of the year. The first half of May is forecast to be warm and humid, with daily maximum temperatures reaching 34 deg C on most afternoons.

“On a few days when there is less cloud cover, the daily maximum temperature could reach a high of around 35 deg C.”

NEA in April debunked claims circulating via text messages that Singapore was about to face a severe heatwave with temperatures rising to between 40 deg C and 50 deg C.

“It is unlikely for the temperature in Singapore to reach a high of 40 deg C in the coming weeks,” it said.