Climate Change Country Profile: Singapore 1. Country description 1.1 Geography Land area: 704 km 2 Figure 1. Map of Singapore 1.2 Demographics Population: 4.48 million Population density: 6369 persons per km 2 1.3 Economic and industrial development characteristics Main industries: manufacturing, finance, transport, communication and services 1.4 Climate (climatic zones, trends in temperature and precipitation) Mean daily temperature: 26.8 C Mean annual rainfall: 2346 mm Mean humidity: 84% 2. Burden of climate-sensitive health outcomes 2.1 Data on current climate-sensitive disease burdens Climate-sensitive diseases include heat-related diseases, vectorborne diseases, waterborne diseases, diseases from urban air pollution, and diseases related to extreme weather conditions such as floods, droughts, windstorms and fires.
(1) Dengue 14 209 cases in 2005 Seasonal distribution during the hot months Reduce the extrinsic incubation of dengue virus in mosquito Reduce gonotrophic cycle of mosquito, increase feeding frequency Shorten life cycle of mosquito Figure 2. Dengue cases and temperature, 1989 2006 DENGUE CASES & TEMPERATURE, SINGAPORE, 1989-2006 NO. OF CASES 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 Cases Temperature 27.6 27.4 27.4 27.3 14209 28.3 28.3 28.2 28.1 27.6 27.6 27.7 27.76 27.8 27.6 9459 27.5 27.5 YEAR 28.5 28 27.5 27.5 5258 27 26.9 4788 4300 3945 1733 2179 2878 3128 3126 944 946 1239 2008 2372 26.5 1355 673 26 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 (e-wk 10) DEG. CELCIUS (2) Legionellosis Correlation with rainfall was noted in October-November 1999 (3) Melioidosis Associated with heavy rainfall and flooding 2.2 Potential impacts of climate change on health burden, i.e. qualitative and quantitative projections of future health burdens Climate change could potential increase of the incidence of the following diseases: vectorborne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya; legionellosis; melioidosis (among occupations associated with soil contact such as construction workers, gardeners); heat stress or heat-related diseases (especially among the elderly, sick and construction site workers; diseases associated with flooding; and water stress diseases 2
2.3 Information on particularly vulnerable populations The following populations are especially vulnerable to changes in the climate: elderly (aging population); sick; construction site workers; and people living near low-lying areas or coastal areas. 3. National programmes and projects 3.1 Programmes to reduce and/or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (1) Power sector Liberalized electricity market Promote cogeneration and trigeneration (2) Industry sector Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme (EASe) Investment allowance Promote environmental reporting (3) Buildings Minimum standards Envelope Thermal Transfer Value(ETTV) Code of Practice (CP 24) Green Mark and Energy Smart labels Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance Scheme Governments take the lead in energy audits and green design (4) Transport Public transport system Certificate of entitlement, Electronic road pricing Fuel economy label Green vehicle rebate (5) Households Energy label for air conditioners and refrigerators Energy-saving tips 3
(6) Promote research and development (R&D) and test-bedding in low-carbon technology US$ 350 million R&D grant for clean energy US$ 50 million R&D grant for green buildings US$ 10 million Innovation for Environmental Sustainability fund (7) Climate Change Awareness Programme (CCAP) Theme: Everyday Superhero Basic principles of climate change Simple habits that save energy, money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 3.2 Climate change related studies and projects, including their roles in the Second National Communications (1) Climate change effects Coastal hydrodynamics - Changes in sea and tide levels - Changes in sea currents - Probability of storm tide surges Climate and/or meteorological - Changes in ambient temperature and probability of extreme temperatures - Changes in wind patterns and intensity - Probability of severe storms - Changes in rainfall intensity, duration and frequency - Probability and duration of droughts (2) Impacts Water resources: impacts on reservoir yield, drought resilience and saline water intrusion into freshwater bodies, groundwater, and reservoirs Coastal land: land loss due to erosion and submergence Flooding: impacts under various scenarios of sea-level rise and design storms Impacts on slope stability 3.3 Further data and research needs on potential health impacts of climate change Maintaining and strengthening climate information system Maintaining and strengthening climate-related disease surveillance systems for monitoring the incidence of epidemic diseases Integrating climate and disease systems into predictive models and early warning system Dengue Heat stress and heat-related diseases 4
3.4 Current and expected programmes and activities for adaptation to current and projected climate-related health burdens Dengue - Different alert levels for vector control action and inter-agency coordination Flooding - Storm water management system in place - Reducing amount of flood-prone area - Pumped drainage system where not possible to raise platform level Drought - Four national taps Heat stress - Increased greenery (streetscape, vertical, rooftop, city parks) that reduce ambient temperature 4. Institutional organization Key organizations and/or institutions dealing with climate change are: Ministry of Environment and Water Resources Ministry of National Development Ministry of Health National Environment Agency Public Utilities Board Building and Construction Authority National Parks Housing and Development Board Urban Redevelopment Authority Maritime and Port Authority. 5. Issues and challenges Critical issues and challenges that the country faces in relation to mitigation and adaptation to climate change to reduce health impacts are: land loss and flooding; water resource impacts; heat stress and higher energy demand; public health impacts from resurgence of diseases; and biodiversity impacts. 5