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Geography is what most people understand to be the study of where countries are. That's why not knowing where a country is on a map will result in your friends saying, "Never study geography ah?" Of course, geography is deeper and more complex than just finding countries and cities on a map. It also involves studying a country's features such as mountains, lakes and rivers, and most importantly, peoples. We won't dive into all this. Instead, we'll get into how Singapore's geography determines its climate and how this in turn influences our lifestyle. Photo: Maarten Duineveld, Unsplash Swedish observation Singapore sits just above the equator, so you might say that our two most abundant resources are the sun and its heat. Anyway, during a work trip to Sweden some years ago, a fellow journalist and I noticed many locals doing a variety of outdoor sports. From cycling to running to tennis, it seemed like everyone had an active lifestyle. "It must be the weather. The climate is so cool that even I want to pick up a tennis racquet!" he remarked. As we drove along, I remembered my geography classes in school. How citizens of a country live - this is very much influenced by its climate. Obviously, Sweden is way up in the northern hemisphere and gets plenty of snow in the winter, which explains why it's a cold country. Indeed, it was cold for the first week of October, which was when the trip took place. I recall temperatures only reaching 12 degrees during the day, dropping to around 4 degrees Celsius at night. Walking, running and cycling would certainly feel shiok in this weather. The weather lately feels desert-like. Photo: Giorgio Parravicini, Unsplash Meanwhile, in the sweltering tropics... It's only going to get hotter in Singapore. Numerous temperature and UV warnings have been issued, and the wet and cool weather we enjoyed for a prolonged period last year has long departed. We can only hope it will visit again. Life doesn't stop just because it's hot. However, it also makes exercising outdoors - and being active in general - unappealing. Combined with high humidity, it's not uncommon to hear people complain that they're already sweating after walking to the bus stop below their block. If you're from a temperate country and have never been to the tropics, you probably think I'm exaggerating. Well, come to our corner of the world and feel for yourself. So, hot weather prevents us from exercising? Of course not. Many of us are quite outdoorsy and don't even mind getting tanned (but please apply sunscreen to mitigate skin damage). But the heat tends to make us lazy. Cooler weather makes commuting more comfortable, like these folks in Tokyo. Photo: Redd F, Unsplash Nobody wants to sweat while walking 10 minutes from the office to the hawker centre. So, we'll either drive there or get a private-hire ride. Nobody enjoys sweaty commutes requiring one to walk while transferring from air-conditioned buses and trains. Yes, yes, I know. First World problems. I think this 'problem' though, is one factor that prevents us from becoming fitter. Those of us who've holidayed in Tokyo during spring or fall know that you can easily clock 20,000 steps a day when you're there, probably without breaking a sweat. It must be why everyone there looks so slim. Cooler climes make it more comfortable to do such things. Tampines MRT station is less than 2km from my house, but if I started walking to it at 9am, I hope shower facilities appear in the office by the time I arrive. With cooler weather, more people would walk and cycle as well, since the impact to one's hygiene will be minimal. If commuting becomes pleasant, we might even drive less, thereby lowering emissions and our vehicle's running costs. Photo: Peijia Lee, Unsplash Will it really improve health? The optimistic answer to this is yes, cooler weather will make us more active and therefore, fitter. According to this HealthHub article, the crude prevalence of obesity among residents aged 18-74 years old is 10.5%. This is based on a 2019/2020 National Population Health Survey. But it's too simplistic to conclude that cooler weather will change lifestyle and health trends. Does everyone become healthier/fitter during the cooler and wetter periods? Based on casual observations and conversations, we actually end up eating and drinking more when the weather is cool. Mala hotpot, already a firm favourite, becomes even more irresistible then. Whisky seems 'less heaty' as well. In general, we tend to get hungrier and thirstier the colder we feel. It's all in the mind We can't change our geography, so we can only surmise that if we had a more temperate climate, we'd be more active. I don't think we need single-digit temperatures, but if our weather ranged between 15-20 degrees Celsius on average and humidity also averaged 60% instead of over 90%, a lot would change. Training in hot weather can help improve your cardiovascular fitness. Photo: Karsten Winegeart, Unsplash But would it make us fitter? That might be wishful thinking. Beyond lifestyle and dining habits, mindsets are the most difficult to change. Someone who only insists on high-cholesterol, high-sodium and sugar-heavy foods for every meal is unlikely to change their mind, no matter the weather, or impact to his or her health. I mention food because nutrition makes up a big part of the fitness equation. While exercising regularly (even with poor dietary habits) is better than not exercising at all, we all know that the key to better health is diet + exercise. That's never been a secret. To me, that means healthier choices from Mondays to Fridays, but indulging a bit on weekends. Being more willing to sweat it out will help as well. Instead of taking cover from the heat, I've learned (or convinced myself) to use it to improve my fitness. Hot weather is here to stay. It's our geography and we must do what humans do best: Adapt and thrive. - Jeremy

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very deep from a 16 years old girl .... i wonder how many times she "practice" in front of the mirror https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYxt0BeTrT8

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/specialreports/climate-change-special/tides-of-change-climate-change-rising-sea-levels-netherlands-11902760 Interesting and informative read. Just sharing Safe ride and good Sunday Cheers

Hi brothers and sisters of MCF. In this current COE climate, will u recommend getting Gcoe (cat A)? Say Gcoe is only 1k more.

If this holds true, this climate change will inevitably effect everyone, not just for those whose daily activities that depend on the weather condition. With the average maximum daily temperature predicted to reach 34.9 to 36.7 deg C from current 31.8 deg C, this will means more demand for powering air conditioners, higher health risk, longer dry spells, increased bush fires and yes, the chocking smog/haze/smoke from the resulting burning. This will drive people indoor for longer period and increase water usage, exacerbating the situation by reducing our adaptability in a hotter and dryer Garden City. http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/unusually-warm-weather-may-become-norm-singapore

Hi all, I'm thinking of replacing the current stock audio unit (of my Hyundai Veloster) with Alpine ICS-X8. Problem is - While the switches for the Auto A/C climate is separately located, the "DISPLAY" is integrated into the stock audio head unit :angry: I was trying to find out more, by googling, to over-come this issue but it seems that it's either not an issue or nobody seems to be talking about it. Hence, I was wondering if anyone here encounter similar issue and had overcome it (or had given up) ? Will I be losing the ability to display the Auto A/C Climate if I insist on changing into 3rd party head-unit ? PS: Hyundai Service Center's technician are equally clueless.... Sigh.

"The government is consulting stakeholders on measures that can be taken to further enhance Singapore’s plan to reduce carbon emissions and promote green growth beyond 2020. As a party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Singapore is actively involved in ongoing negotiations to work out a new global agreement on climate change by end 2015. One key strategy is energy efficiency, especially as Singapore has limited alternative energy sources." "Share Your Views We want to hear your views on any of the following areas for action. We also welcome your perspectives on the last document – pertaining to harnessing economic and green growth opportunities in clean energy, urban solutions, research and test bedding, among others:" - from https://www.nccs.gov.sg/consultation2015

Interesting situation developing in the UK. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/29/diesel-drivers-may-face-higher-costs-pollution-battle

Climate report predicts city will be warmest place on earth by the turn of the century. Tropical countries such as Singapore will be a lot hotter and wetter by the turn of this century if climate change predictions come to pass. Weather considered extreme today could well become the norm, with temperatures rising by as much as three to four degrees Celsius and heavy storms becoming more frequent and intense. Singapore already has one of the hottest tropical rainforest climates on earth. "Equatorial Singapore will not just be warmer than it is now, but warmer than anywhere on earth with year-round rainfall," ecologist Richard Corlett warns in the first State of the Tropics report by Australia's James Cook University (JCU), which is launched today in Myanmar, Singapore and Australia. Nanyang Technological University and the National University of Singapore were among 11 international universities that helped to develop the report's framework and review the final product, targeted at policymakers, researchers and others. Tropical regions are typically those where the mean temperature of the coolest month is above 18 deg C, with a small annual range of temperature. The report's focus on the tropics reflects how this is a critical zone of population and economic growth, with an impact on the rest of the world, said JCU media and communications head Richard Davis. The university plans to update the report every five years. Professor Corlett, who is with the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Yunnan, told The Sunday Times there is a need for more research in several areas, and Singapore could play a lead role in this. One area is developing better climate models, something which the Centre for Climate Research Singapore is currently doing. South-East Asia's climate is particularly complicated, with a varied mix of land and sea. Another is conducting experiments on how various species react to sustained higher temperatures. Professor Stephen Lansing, co-director of NTU's Complexity Institute, said Singapore has the research expertise to model how tropical cities might behave as they grow, or to work out how to cut emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, from ricefields in Bali, for example. In the report, JCU researchers say climate change is making the earth's tropical regions creep gradually towards the poles at a rate of about 1.25 to 2.5 degrees of latitude every quarter-century - or between 138km and 277km. This will have significant consequences for a number of issues, as well as for people and ecosystems. Almost half the people in the tropics are already vulnerable to water stress. So if the region expands as temperatures rise and rainfall patterns shift, even more could be at risk. An expanded tropical region could increase the habitat for disease-carrying insects. But other plants and animals could face extinction if they cannot move or adapt as warm places become warmer. NTU and NUS representatives, including NTU president Bertil Andersson, are among experts who will discuss the report at Marina Bay Sands today. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/environment/story/singapore-get-even-hotter-and-wetter-20140629

Source: The Straits Times HAVING more greenery does not always help to protect against climate change, a team of Singapore scientists has found. A three-year study in Telok Kurau yielded the surprising fact that the greenery there emits more carbon dioxide (CO2) than it absorbs, the scientists said. While the plants, trees and grass in the neighbourhood take in more CO2 than they give out, the soil they grow on also emits the gas. Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (Smart) research scientist Erik Velasco said the vegetation types in Telok Kurau were part of the problem. Turfgrass and palm trees make up about 30 per cent of the greenery, but these absorb less CO2 due to their small biomass compared with larger, woody trees, he said. Hence, the net effect is that the greenery there contributes to, rather than reduces, emissions to the atmosphere. The study suggests that to better reduce CO2 emissions and protect against climate change, "large trees should not be replaced by young trees and palms, as is the tendency along secondary roads in Singapore". The larger trees would better offset the soil's CO2 emissions. Soil's CO2 emissions also need to be studied further, said Dr Velasco. The scientists' work started in 2010 and was published in the Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics science journal last month. They were from Smart and the National University of Singapore (NUS). According to the research paper, they chose Telok Kurau because the low-rise buildings there make it easier to measure CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. NUS built a 21m-tall tower there in 2006 to track CO2 floating from the ground. The scientists got CO2 measurements from the tower. They also did their own estimates by getting data about the area's population, traffic, soil, buildings and vegetation from the authorities and through manual surveys. This data was compared to previous research on CO2 emissions and the relationship between trees and the gas, to come up with the estimates. Dr Velasco stressed, however, that the Telok Kurau findings cannot be extrapolated to the whole of Singapore due to the wide variety in building and vegetation types, and more research is needed. "But it shows that green spaces can act as emission sources rather than CO2 sinks, as is widely believed."

Jellyfish can cause a nuclear power plant meltdown By Carl Bagh | Jul 06, 2011 10:37 AM EDT It took an earthquake of magnitude 9 on Richter scale and a tsunami to force the shutdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in Japan due to fears of a possible meltdown. However, a recent report from Israel suggests that jellyfish can cause a nuclear power plant shutdown as well. Recently, the Orot Rabin nuclear power plant in Hadera, Israel, faced a similar threat when a swarm of jellyfish blocked the plant's water supply which is used as a coolant. In Scotland, reactors at Torness power station, operated by EDF, had to be shutdown as the seawater used as coolant was inundated with jellyfish. The reactors were closed as precautionary measure due to "high volumes of the high volumes of jelly fish fouling the cooling water screens", an EDF spokesman said. Scientists have ascribed the sudden rise in jellyfish population to an increase in acidity in oceans. Here are pictures of jellyfish jamming the water supply of the coal-powered Orot Rabin power station in Hadera, Israel: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/175273/201...ors-edf-jap.htm Surge in numbers of jellyfish stinging tourists could be due to climate change By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-...l#ixzz1RL5SNe5t A surge of jellyfish wreaked havoc in the U.S. during the country

Hi Is there such a thing in the market for those car owners whose vehicle only comes with normal air con?? Thanks.

Hi - is this worth it. What is the average price of having the manual air-con changed to climate control. How long will the change process take. Anyone has done this before for a 1.6A version?