A 25-year-old National University of Singapore (NUS) student drowned on Wednesday (May 25) in Croatia.

According to The Straits Times, Mr Andy Chow Kok Haw had been swimming at a waterfall at Krka National Park, near the city of Sibenik, when he was swept away by currents.

Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao had previously reported that Mr Chow drowned while whitewater rafting.

According to Lianhe Wanbao, the NUS Department of Pharmacy student was due to graduate in August.

Mr Chow was reportedly on a trip to Europe with friends to celebrate his graduation.

His father told Lianhe Wanbao the family was in mourning but did not wish to speak more on his son’s death. He said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) is preparing to arrange for his son’s body to be brought home.

Responding to queries from Lianhe Wanbao, a spokesman for the ministry expressed MFA’s deepest condolences to the family of the deceased, and said that it would continue to provide assistance to them.

According to the Chinese paper, Mr Chow was an outdoors enthusiast and a member of the NUS Rovers Adventure Club.

As news of Mr Chow’s death spread, many of his former army colleagues expressed shock on his Facebook page, and offered their condolences, reported Lianhe Wanbao.

It is understood that Mr Chow’s body will return to Singapore tomorrow or the day after, said the Chinese paper.

xiuhuil@sph.com.sg

The first half of June looks to be less dry because short, thundery showers in the late morning and early afternoon are expected.

The National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Wednesday (June 1) that the southwest monsoon season is just around the corner, as it typically starts from June till early October.

Along with short-duration thundery showers in the first fortnight of June, thundery showers with gusty winds are also likely to occur on at least one to two days in the pre-dawn and morning.

However, rainfall during this time period is still expected to be slightly below average. Daily maximum temperatures during this period of time are expected to be between 32 deg C and 33 deg C. Nights can also be relatively warm, particularly on days with no rain.

NEA added that with the weakening of the El Nino climate cycle, close to normal rainfall and temperatures can be expected for Singapore in the next one or two months.

However, international climate centres forecast that a La Nina – a weather phenomenon associated with more rain within this region – could develop in the later part of the year. This usually brings above average rainfall to Singapore’s surrounding region.

Second-warmest May on record

In the first two weeks of May, the days were significantly warmer than usual and the highest daily maximum temperature ranged between 32.8 deg C and 36.1 deg C. NEA said the increase in the occurrence of rain showers in the later part of May brought cooler days.

Despite cooler conditions though, the mean monthly temperature of 29.3 deg C recorded at the Changi climate station was still 1.0 deg C warmer than the long-term mean temperature for May.

This makes the month of May the second-warmest May since Singapore temperature records started in 1929, tying with the record set in May 1997.

Overall, NEA said thundery showers in the afternoon on most days in May were due to strong solar heating of land areas coupled with the convergence of winds over Singapore. Therefore, most parts of Singapore received above average rainfall.

The showers were heaviest on May 11, where the highest daily rainfall total recorded was 99.8mm around Yishun.

For updates of the daily weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov.sg, NEA’s website or download the myENV app.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg