The reason why it feels so cold - even if it's 'just' 21°C. -by @visss9 on Reddit
‘I've seen Singaporeans expressing their dismay at other Singaporeans for 'overreacting' to our current climatic conditions. I've seen foreigners calling Singaporeans overly 'dramatic', because 21 degrees is standard summer temperature in many temperate countries. This, in my opinion, is unwarranted criticism.
I'm in my house, with my windows open, and my toes feel cold. There has to be a reason for it.
There are some elements of our current climatic condition that we haven't accounted for. These are:
-Wind chill
-Cloud cover
-Precipitation
Using this wind chill calculator, inputting a temperature of 22 degrees C and an average wind speed of 25km/h (tomorrow's forecast) gives us a wind chill index of 18 degrees C. That means that even if the mercury reading is 22, the 'real feel' index is 18 degrees C. That's four degrees cooler than 22 degrees. Inputting a temperature of 22 degrees C and a wind speed of 35km/h (tomorrow's maximum wind speed forecast) makes the 'real feel' index dip to 17 degrees C. That's five degrees cooler than the temperature on display.
Make no mistake: That IS cold, for Singapore standards. Let's say if we were in the middle of a Sumatran squall and the wind speeds averaged 70km/h, the 'real feel' index would be 15 degrees C. For context, the highest recorded wind speed in Singapore was 144.4km/h, recorded in 1984, and an average yearly Sumatran squall gives us wind speeds of up to 80km/h.
But there's more. In temperate climates, a summer temperature of 21 degrees is often marked by balmy and sunny weather. The sun counteracts the effect of wind chill, if any, but we've had nothing but an overcast sky and UV indices of 0 over the last week. No sun, no sources of warmth. This, combined with the wet weather and our year-round humidity, just serves as a snowball effect of sorts. If our 'real feel' index is 18, this can really make it feel like 16, or even colder. Remember: "Cold air with high relative humidity "feels" colder than dry air of the same temperature, because high humidity in cold weather increases the conduction of heat from the body."
Why hasn't anyone pointed this out, you may ask? Well, we just never thought we'd be talking about wind chill in this part of the world. But here we are.
There's another element to this too: Our preparedness. In countries with temperate climes, people are experts at layering in accordance with the weather, but we have a standard lepak outfit that we seldom deviate from. Berms, a shirt/singlet, and flip flops. Most of us haven't deviated from this standard form of attire, so of course we'd feel cold. It feels like it's 18 degrees, after all.
Also, our houses and flats were built to withstand Singapore's heat and humidity. Not chilly weather. Even if there's a chill in temperate countries during summertime, their houses are fitted with double glazed (insulated windows) for winter anyway and can keep it out. We're comparatively more exposed to this kind of weather.
Just putting that out there.”
#signsofSGwinter #sgwinter
