Singapore is strengthening its aviation meteorological capabilities and regional collaboration as changing weather patterns increasingly disrupt flight operations, airport capacity and aviation safety.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) have jointly established a new National Aviation Meteorological Programme to improve the prediction, mitigation and management of weather-related impacts on air traffic control, airlines and airport operations. The initiative brings together aviation and meteorology experts alongside industry stakeholders to build research, development and operational capabilities.
The program responds to a sharp rise in weather-driven disruptions. Between January and November 2025, 55 flights were diverted from Changi Airport due to adverse weather, compared with nine during the same period in 2024. Globally, severe turbulence incidents and convective weather disruptions are also increasing.
Five priority areas underpin the program, each targeting a critical weather hazard affecting aviation in Singapore and the wider region.
Lightning is a major operational challenge, with Singapore among the world’s most lightning-prone countries. Nearly half the days each year record lightning activity, posing safety risks to airside workers and causing delays. CAAS and NEA aim to improve lightning forecast precision through enhanced strike-density mapping, electromagnetic modeling of lightning interactions with aircraft and infrastructure, and advanced nowcasting and zone-based risk assessment – particularly important as the future Terminal 5 significantly expands Changi Airport’s footprint.
Turbulence is another focus area. In September 2025, Singapore became the first state to classify severe turbulence as a major in-flight risk under its National Aviation Safety Plan (2025–2027). The agencies will work to strengthen turbulence prediction and provide airlines with more timely and actionable information.
Convective weather, including fast-developing thunderstorms that cause wind shear, remains difficult to forecast and is a growing cause of delays and diversions. The program aims to improve convective weather forecasting to support real-time operational decision-making.
Surface wind forecasting will also be enhanced to help air traffic controllers manage runway direction changes more effectively, reducing capacity loss caused by rapidly shifting winds.
In addition, CAAS and NEA will expand research into aircraft contrails and their climate impacts, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where data is limited and atmospheric conditions differ from Europe and North America.
Oversight will be provided by a new steering committee co-chaired by CAAS director-general Han Kok Juan and NEA CEO Wong Kang Jet, with participation from major aviation and airport stakeholders.
Beyond national efforts, CAAS and NEA have signed a letter of intent with regional air navigation service providers, meteorological agencies, CANSO and the International Centre for Aviation Innovation to strengthen research, data sharing and operational integration. The agreement was signed on December 8, 2025, at the CANSO Asia-Pacific Conference in Hong Kong.
“Changes in weather patterns are affecting aviation operations all over the world, including in Singapore,” said Han. “We take this seriously and are taking concrete steps to address it through better leveraging technology, including AI, integrating national aviation and meteorology expertise and regional partnership.”
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