Weather Impressions

Singapore has a constant climate with a quality reminiscent of the late summer days of my youth.  It is always hot and humid here, like a Chicago August. Mid-day here can be quite unbearable. The sun burns with an intensity as it smolders directly overhead. The air is wet, heavy, and oppressive.  Clothing clings to skin. Sweat coats the brow and upper lip.

I try not to go out around mid-day.

But the evenings can be quite nice. The reward of cool darkness after enduring the extreme heat of the day.

Singapore's island geography brings with it cool maritime air in gentle, fresh breezes at night. Walking along the riverfront or strolling through one of the urban jungle parks, you can feel refreshing relief from the heat of the day as the now damp and cool air touches and soothes your skin.  Like the grateful cool of evenings in a Midwest summer.

In Singapore there is also a nostalgic familiarity to the low angle sunlight present in the late afternoons. The way the sun looks filtering, rich and gold, through the leafy canopy above a quiet urban/ suburban street. I am reminded of late days at the end of summer in the US as a child. Knowing that something good was ending, but appreciating the world's ability to pass, slow and tranquil, in the quiet savour of that golden moment.

Many afternoons have that quality here.

I find it is very interesting how climate can vividly evoke places, moments, and feelings of times passed. This is perhaps one of the rich beauties of living amid the new perspectives of another land and culture.  Learning and experiencing the new place in the present, but also remembering the fond places of the past.