Survey finds heat stress reshaping daily life in Singapore

Delivery rider Kelvin Zeng, 43, spends most of his days drenched in sweat.

For the last five years, he has cycled around Tampines and Simei almost daily, delivering food to residents from around 8.30am to 8.30pm.

Aside from lunch and brief lulls between orders, he is usually on the move.

Lately, though, the heat has become harder to endure. Zeng says he has taken more breaks to hydrate over the past month, stopping at Our Tampines Hub and community centres to refill his bottle.

Twice – on particularly hot days in March and May – a splitting headache forced him to end work two hours early.

But there is no respite at home; heat follows him inside.

He shares a five-room Housing Board flat with his parents, in their seventies, and children, aged 13 and 11. Without air conditioning, he has been sweating through the night, losing sleep three to four times a week in June. By morning, fatigue slows his delivery pace, he says.

The reduced pace and more frequent breaks shave three to four deliveries off his daily average of 30, he estimates, cutting his earnings by around $14 to $19 every day.

For Zeng, the worry is not just the heat he faces now.

Meteorologists warned that the mercury may continue to rise. A stronger version of El Nino is forecast for later this year, potentially bringing drier, hotter conditions to South-east Asia.

El Nino is a weather pattern where trade winds weaken and warm water shifts eastward across the Pacific, raising sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific. It last occurred in 2023 to 2024.

“I’m (especially) concerned if (intense) heat drags on and I’d need to take longer breaks,” says Zeng, who believes climate change is contributing to warmer temperatures.

His experience is not uncommon. A survey of 1,000 Singapore residents suggests that heat is increasingly affecting people’s lives and well-being. They ranked hotter weather and heat stress as their top concern arising from climate change.

Conducted in April 2026, the survey was commissioned by SPH Media and Temasek Foundation, with respondents drawn from Kantar’s Profiles Audience Network. Kantar is an independent market research firm.

Eighty-two per cent of them said heat stress disrupts their daily lives at least once a month. Of this, about half said it happens at least weekly.

Forty-six per cent of people reported excessive sweating and dehydration due to heat, while 41 per cent experienced fatigue, and 39 per cent poor sleep.

Heat strains and drains

Delivery riders face higher heat risks due to prolonged sun exposure and pay tied to speed, potentially discouraging them to slow down or take breaks, says Associate Professor Jason Lee, director for Heat Resilience & Performance Centre at NUS’ Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

What we are concerned about is a ‘hot body’, or heat strain, not (just) a hot environment,” says Lee.

Heat strain occurs when the body cannot remove excess heat, causing internal temperature to rise.

Clothing, physical activity and weather affect how heat in the body builds up and releases, Lee says. One common measure for environmental heat stress is the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), which accounts for air temperature, humidity, wind speed and solar radiation.

On high heat stress days, the heart pumps faster to move blood to the skin and sweating increases to release heat, Lee says.

But if clothes trap heat or if one is not acclimatised, heat-related injuries may develop. The most severe is heat stroke, characterised by body temperature usually at about 40 deg C or higher, with delirium, he adds.

In 2025, 398 people were treated for heat-related illnesses at accident and emergency departments in Singapore, nearly double the annual average of 200 from 2020 to 2023, according to Ministry of Health data cited by Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao. Hospitalisations also rose to 81, up from an annual average of 50 over 2020 to 2023.

Lee says not all heat-related injuries are as severe as heat stroke. Some have milder, less distinct symptoms, like heat syncope, or sudden dizziness from standing too long in high temperatures.

Heat can affect how people function in their daily lives, influencing their ability to work, move around, rest and maintain well-being, says Research Assistant Professor Samuel Chng, head of the Urban Psychology Lab at SUTD’s Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities.

People experiencing heat stress often feel more fatigued, irritable and distracted, which can affect concentration, productivity, mood and social interaction, says Chng.

Those who avoid outdoor activities due to heat may have fewer opportunities for physical activity and social connection over time, he adds.

Chng’s research also found that many residents experience significant heat exposure at home, especially at night. Nearly half of 416 HDB flats studied recorded warmer temperatures than outdoors, especially where ventilation was hindered by indoor clutter and closed windows.

With little relief from heat, the day’s stress can build up further, he says.

Managing the heat

The world is experiencing “global boiling”, says Heng Li Lang, Head of Climate & Liveability at Temasek Foundation.

“Heat stress is one of the most visible and immediate impacts of climate change,” she says, pointing to its growing effects on public health, productivity and liveability, particularly in Asia.

Asia has warmed faster than the global average in recent decades, at roughly twice the rate from 1991-2025 compared with 1961-1990, according to a World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) report in June.

The impact of heat extends globally. France, the Netherlands and Belgium recorded at least 3,700 excess deaths during the June heatwave according to local authorities, and the toll may still rise.

Addressing climate change requires solutions that help people adapt to rising temperature, adds Heng, alongside efforts to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHG like carbon dioxide and methane trap the sun’s warmth.

The Liveability Challenge, an annual sustainability initiative presented by Temasek Foundation, aims to support such efforts. (See box above)

What does adaptation look like in daily life?

That could mean building heat tolerance through outdoor exercise and acclimatisation, because as Lee warns, “a small pot boils the quickest”. Consistently avoiding heat only makes us more vulnerable in a warming world, he says.

Lee recommends adjusting the intensity and duration of outdoor activities and taking more breaks.

But there are hard limits: feeling light-headed or unwell during outdoor exercise is a sign to stop, Lee says.

At the national level, Singapore already treats heat as a liveability challenge, not just a weather issue, says Chng. He points to the government’s investments in urban greenery, climate-responsive design such as sheltered walkways, and research into climate change’s impact on daily life.

Just this year, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment set up the Heat Resilience Policy Office to oversee heat management efforts countrywide, and recognised 2026 as the Year of Climate Adaptation.

As temperatures rise, the next phase of adaptation is ensuring these investments improve not only thermal comfort, but also wellbeing, Chng says.

“A heat-resilient city is not simply one where temperatures are lower,” says Chng. “It is one where people can continue to live well, work productively, move around comfortably, and participate fully in community life despite a warming climate.”

In partnership with Temasek Foundation