Identification of Highest and Lowest Temperature Neighbourhoods and Monitoring Heat Inequality Across Residential Districts

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) whether the Ministry has identified the neighbourhoods in Singapore with the highest and lowest temperatures; and (b) whether heat inequality by residential district is an issue monitored by the Ministry.

Ms Grace Fu Hai Yien: Singapore’s heat resilience strategy includes implementing effective cooling strategies to address the Urban Heat Island effect, such as climate-sensitive urban planning and design, improved orientation of buildings to maximise natural ventilation and wind flow, integration and intensification of greenery, and application of cool coatings on building facades to reduce heat absorption.

The Meteorological Service Singapore operates weather stations islandwide to monitor temperatures across the island. We have not observed temperature patterns that follow residential district boundaries. As such, associating such differences with heat inequality may not be meaningful.