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Oh it’s happening. Our monsoons are getting wetter than ever. Singapore’s maximum hourly rainfall has increased at an average rate of 6.4mm per decade since 1980, becoming more frequent and intense between late November and early March. We get an average of 18 rainy days per month with around 325mm of monthly rainfall in November and December. And when the monsoons hit, there are sometimes sudden changes in water volume. Can that be managed? #ChallengeAccepted.
Singapore is constantly configuring our drainage capacity to cope with sudden high rainfall. The Kallang River portion through Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park was naturalised in 2012. During dry weather, the flow of water is confined to a narrow stream in the middle of the river. In the event of a storm, the adjacent park area doubles up as a conveyance channel, carrying the rainwater downstream gradually. The 3.2km meandering naturalised river used to be a 2.7km long straight concrete channel in the past, which would not otherwise have been able to contain as much rainwater as it now does.
The abundance of rain is also stored for our dry seasons, through water catchment. Since 2011, the water catchment area has been increased from half to two-thirds of Singapore’s land surface with the completion of the Marina, Punggol and Serangoon Reservoirs. Local catchment water remains a pillar of Singapore's sustainable water supply — it's not just imported water, NEWater and desalination.
And because we all have things to do regardless of rain or shine, over 250km of walkways shelter us when we leave MRT/LRT stations, bus interchanges, and major bus stops. This has made popping to the supermarket, coming home from school, and going to the nearest mall — just that little bit easier. Did you know the first sheltered walkways in Singapore go as far back as 1822? Read more about them here: https://www.facebook.com/ConnexionSG/posts/4447421911966406
📷 Kallang River, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park (PUB Singapore)