National Day Rally: PM Lee Hsien Loong to touch on global warming, rising sea levels
SINGAPORE — Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that he will be talking about global warming and rising sea levels, as well as how Singapore should respond to these climate changes, in his National Day Rally speech on Sunday (18 August).
In a post put up on his Facebook page on Thursday, PM Lee mentioned that he has already touched on the subject of climate change in his National Day Message on 8 August.
“Global warming and rising sea levels are existential threats to the world,” he wrote. “We must treat climate change very seriously. As a low-lying island, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels. I will be talking about how we must respond to this at the National Day Rally.”
Projected global warming until 2100
PM Lee put up a web link to a BBC News interactive page on global warming, showing users how temperatures in 1,000 cities around the world have increased since 1900.
He wrote, “It shows the projected further warming from now till 2100. If you pick the chart for Singapore, in the worst-case, temperatures for July will rise from 27.8°C now to 31.1°C by 2100.
“Those are monthly averages. Maximum temperatures during the day will be much higher.
“Today, we are already hitting daytime highs of 32°C and even 34°C, so by 2100 Singapore could see 37°C days!”
Challenges facing Singapore
In his nine-minute National Day Message at Jewel Changi Airport, PM Lee spoke about the challenges facing the nation this year, including economic uncertainties, growing friction between major powers and global warming.
“Singapore will not be immune to these global problems... We must get ourselves ready for a very different future,” he said.
He stressed that Singapore’s past gives confidence that it can overcome the present challenges.
“Throughout our history, when trials and tribulations have beset us, we picked ourselves up, and worked together to overcome them. Each time the world changed, we were able to survive,” he said.
How to catch National Day Rally
PM Lee will be delivering his National Day Rally at ITE Central on Sunday. He will be speaking in Malay and Mandarin from 6.45pm to 7.30pm, before speaking in English from 8.15pm to 9.30pm.
The National Day Rally will be broadcast on local TV channels and radio stations. It will will also be live streamed on the following online channels:
There will be live updates during PM Lee’s speech at both his Facebook page and Twitter account. Online users can join the conversation by including the #ndrsg hashtag in their posts and tweets.
The full broadcast can be viewed from Monday at the PMO YouTube page or at the PMO official website.
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