Students cool with S’pore heat

Many find ways to cope with the heat amid rising temperatures

By Nicole Lim, Ry-Anne Lim

Singapore recorded its hottest-ever temperature of 36.7 deg C just three weeks ago. The rise in temperatures have led students to pack air-conditioned study areas, especially during the study break. PHOTO: KENJI KWOK

Taking more frequent showers, swapping jeans for shorts, vying for air-conditioned study areas — these are just some of the ways NTU students are dealing with soaring temperatures amid the region’s hottest-ever spell.

Temperatures hit 36.7 deg C — the highest recorded tempera- ture here — on 13 Apr at Seletar, the National Environment Agency (NEA) reported in a press release published that week.

While the NEA said temperatures here are unlikely to break the 40-degree barrier, as experienced in north Peninsular Malaysia, the heat has forced many students to change their daily routines.

Second-year School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) student Lee Xian Ying, 21, takes showers more frequently on days when the weather gets too hot.

“Instead of showering once in the morning and once at night, I sometimes bathe twice more in the middle of the day,” she said.

Other students are putting on a different kind of armour to combat the heat — by changing their wardrobe choices.

Not only does Chiam Xin Hui, 20, a first-year student from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, buy drinks more frequently to stay cool, but she has also turned in her jeans for shorts.

“Squeezing into skinny jeans in the heat and humidity is a nightmare,” she said. “Now that I’m wearing more shorts, I can let my legs breathe and I won’t sweat my face off.”

Melissa Oh, 24, a second-year EEE student, also chooses to wear thinner and loosely-fit clothing.

“I also try my best to walk under any sheltered areas when I’m outdoors,” she added.

With the rise in temperatures, air-conditioned study areas have become the hottest spots in school as students ditch open-air tables and benches for libraries and cooler tutorial rooms.

Ms Stella Devavaram, a senior library executive at the Lee Wee Nam Library, noted that many students pack the library after class hours.

“Not only is the library fully occupied during this period of time, but the reading rooms outside are packed as well,” she said.

She has even received numerous requests to lower library temperatures, as students find it hotter when the venue becomes crowded.

Still, not all students are feeling the heat over the temperatures.

Even though third-year EEE student, Tan Xin Yi, 23, uses the air-condition more frequently, he feels that it is not much of a change.

Heeran Kumaresan, 22, a second-year student from the School of Material Science and Engineering, added that while he often complains about the weather, he is actually not that bothered by it.

“Singapore is hot all year round,” he said.

“A slight increase in temperature is nothing we can’t get used to.”