It gets a little cooler after one of the big, brief rains (which appear to happen suddenly and without warning every day or two) it gets a little cooler, but overall it is just hot. I had an experience after a rain, in the shade, with a breeze in which it felt legitimately pleasant outside, but most of life is spent in air-conditioned spaces, well-situated high-floor condo breeze-ways, or waterfront parks.
Singapore doesn't really have a "wet" or "dry" season... reading the climatological distinctions between their two monsoon seasons (each of which have dry and wet periods) and talking to locals makes it sound a lot like splitting hairs. Yes there are patterns, but it's mostly just a shift in which direction the storms come from, and whether it tends to rain in the morning or the evening. Not quite the same as seasons as I'm used to them. I am assured that where the sun sets can vary by about 20 degrees depending on the season by both property agents and coworkers, but I haven't yet investigated sufficiently to figure that much seasonality could be possible this close to the equator.
I'm told that right now it's the "hot season", and the graph above seems to suggest that the average might be a few degrees hotter than it is in November, but the long-time Singaporeans seem to be cued into much smaller fluctuations in temperature than I can even detect. We'll see I develop the same sensitivity over time.
Right now it just feels hot like a summer day in Minneapolis at the end of July. It's humid, even at night, and I sweat like crazy if I'm outside for more than about 5 minutes. I don't equate "sweat" with "discomfort" so it's not that bad, but it is one more thing to take into account when planning outings for dinner, drinks, or customer meetings.
Since the equator is the midpoint between the two extremes of where the sun directly hits the earth (Cancer/Capricorn) which are about 23° N/S, it seems to me that there would be a 23° difference at noon on the equator, on the solstices compared to the equinoxes. That effect might diminish a little as the sun goes down, but 20° still seems rational to me.
ReplyDeleteHere's someone "real" talking about it..
ReplyDeletehttp://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/161-our-solar-system/the-earth/day-night-cycle/67-how-much-can-the-location-of-sunset-differ-from-due-west-intermediate
You reminded me of my cousin visiting central Illinois from Colorado commenting that she didn't think her legs had ever sweat before.
ReplyDeleteI have often thought that the first thing I would do if made to live in a hot climate is drop 20 lbs. Maybe 40. My appetite just disappears in hot weather, and in the deep of winter the hunger never leaves me.
ReplyDeleteI'm also curious if you will be subconsciously disturbed by the disappearance of seasons (as we know them). Will there be a feeling of stuckiness, as in a dream where you are running but cannot seem to move, because the wheel of the year has ceased to turn.
I'm also curious if you've gotten questions yet about Minnesota and/or snow.