Singapore consists of 63 islands, including the main island itself. There are two connections from Singapore to the Malaysian state of Johor — a man-made causeway known as the Johor-Singapore Causeway to the north, crossing the Tebrau Straits, and Tuas Second Link, a bridge in the western part of Singapore that connects to Johor. Jurong Island, Pulau Tekong, Pulau Ubin and Sentosa are the largest of Singapore's many smaller islands. The highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill, with a height of 166 metres (538 ft).

The urban area used to be only concentrated on the southern part of Singapore around the mouth of the Singapore River and what is now the Downtown Core, while the rest of the land was tropical rainforest 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, although the Central Area, the central business district, remains the densest. The Urban Redevelopment Authority is a government agency responsible for the urban planning of Singapore that concentrates on efficient land use and distribution, as well as transport flow. It has released a Development Guide Plan which details specific land use for each the 55 urban planning areas of Singapore.

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 square kilometres (224.5 sq mi) in the 1960s to 697.2 square kilometres (269.1 sq mi) today, and may grow by another 100 square kilometres (38.6 sq mi) by 2030. About 23% of Singapore's land area consists of forest and nature reserves.

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 22°C to 34 °C (72°–93°F). On average, the relative humidity is around 90% in the morning and 60% in the afternoon. During prolonged heavy rain, relative humidity often reaches 100%. The lowest and highest temperature recorded in its maritime history is 18.4 °C (65.1 °F) and 37.8 °C (100.0 °F) respectively. The highest wind speed recorded is 120km/h on July 27, 2001.

Urbanisation has eliminated many areas of primary rainforest that once existed, with the only remaining area of primary rainforest being Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. A variety of parks, however, are maintained with human intervention, such as the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Without natural freshwater rivers and lakes, the primary domestic source of water supply in Singapore is rainfall, collected in reservoirs or catchment areas. Rainfall supplies approximately 50% of Singapore's water; the remainder is imported from Malaysia or obtained from recycled water facilities, a product called NEWater and desalination plants. More NEWater and desalination plants are being built or proposed to reduce reliance on foreign supply.

additional information from Wikipedia

11/24/06 by visitEarth
Tags: