Singapore

The Republic of Singapore (Simplified Chinese: ??????; Pinyin: X?nji?p? Gònghéguó, Malay: Republik Singapura; Tamil: ??????????? ????????), is an island city-state in Southeast Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of the Indonesian Riau Islands. Its coordinates are {{coor dm|1|17.583|N|103|51.333|E|region:SG_type:city(4425720)}}, just 137 km north of the Equator. The name Singapore was derived from Malay word singa (lion), which itself is derived from the Sanskrit word ???? siMha of the same meaning, and the Sanskrit word ??? pura (city) {{ref|sanskrit}}.

Geography

Singapore is a diamond-shaped island with surrounding smaller islands. There are two connections from Singapore to the Malaysian state of Johor — a man-made causeway(known as the Causeway) to the north, crossing the Tebrau Straits, and Tuas Second Link (called Linkedua Expressway in Malaysia), a bridge in the western part of Singapore that connects to Johor.

Related Topics:
Island - Causeway - Tebrau Straits - Tuas Second Link

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Of Singapore's dozens of smaller islands, Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the larger ones. The highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill, with a height of 164 m (538 feet).

Related Topics:
Jurong Island - Pulau Tekong - Pulau Ubin - Sentosa - Bukit Timah Hill

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The urban area used to be concentrated on the southern part of Singapore around the mouth of the Singapore River, while the rest of the land was tropical rain forest or used for agriculture. Since the 1960s, the government has constructed new towns in outlying areas, resulting in an entirely built-up and urban landscape with a few exceptions, such as the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. In addition, Singapore has reclaimed land with earth obtained from its own hills, the seabed and neighbouring countries. As a result, Singapore's land area grew from 581.5 km² in the 1960s to 697.2 km² today, and may grow by another 100 km² by 2030.

Related Topics:
Singapore River - Rain forest - Agriculture - 1960s - Urban - Bukit Timah Nature Reserve - Reclaimed land

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Without natural freshwater rivers and lakes, the primary domestic source of water in Singapore is rainfall, collected in reservoirs or catchment areas. Rainfall supplies approximately 50% of Singapore's water; the remainder is imported from Malaysia. More catchment areas and recycled water (called NEWater) or desalination facilities have been or are being built, reducing reliance on foreign supply.

Related Topics:
Freshwater - Rainfall - Recycled water - NEWater - Desalination

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Singapore has a tropical rainforest climate with no distinct seasons, under the Köppen climate classification. Its climate is characterised by uniform temperature and pressure, high humidity and abundant rainfall. Temperatures range from 23ºC to 35ºC. On average, the relative humidity is around 90 percent in the morning and 60 percent in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100 percent.

Related Topics:
Köppen climate classification - Humidity - Relative humidity

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