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NUS Singapore Rainfall and Runoff Flood-Prediction Research 2026
NUS researchers are using an 8.6-hectare campus living laboratory and dense sensor network to understand Singapore's rainfall, soil-water movement and runoff for improved urban-flood prediction.
NUS Singapore Rainfall and Runoff Flood-Prediction Research 2026
Campus living laboratory
Researchers at the National University of Singapore are studying how rainfall becomes soil water, surface runoff and drainage flow in an 8.6-hectare area between the NUS Central Library and NUS Business School. NUS described the work on 24 July 2026 as first-of-its-kind research in a tropical city aimed at improving urban-flood prediction. (NUS, 24 July 2026, accessed 5 September 2026.)
Sensors and early findings
The research uses meteorological stations, soil-moisture sensors, groundwater wells, lysimeters, pressure transducers and cameras, recording measurements every five minutes. After 22 months of research, NUS reported that vegetated parks and forests generally had high saturated hydraulic conductivity, but soils could become nearly fully saturated during major rainfall events and produce rapid hydrological responses similar to impervious areas. These are findings from the study area, not a flood-risk classification for every Singapore neighbourhood. (NUS, 24 July 2026, accessed 5 September 2026.)
Modelling and planning boundary
The data is intended to support models that can simulate flooding across Singapore and identify potential risk hotspots. Highly vegetated areas may buffer runoff by drawing down soil-water storage during dry periods, but the research does not itself issue public flood warnings, replace PUB drainage operations or guarantee that any model will predict every flash flood. (NUS, 24 July 2026, accessed 5 September 2026.)
Record details
- Also known as
- ["NUS urban flood prediction","Singapore rainfall runoff study","NUS hydrology living laboratory"]
- Jurisdiction
- SG
Dates describe this record’s own period and applicability. A verification date does not mean a rule is currently in force.
Sources
- NUS researchers study Singapore’s rainfall and runoff to predict urban floods Accessed 2026-09-05
Collection as of 2026-10-07 · An expanding collection. Published counts show available knowledge, not complete coverage of Singapore.