Rain maps and History

For much of today, most of Singapore Island was enveloped in rain. This was the rain map for the city-state at 1.25pm:

Credit: Meteorological Service Singapore.

Upon zooming out to a map of the surrounding region, including Johor, Batam, Bintan, the Riau Islands, and the eastern part of Sumatra, the full extent of the storm clouds is more apparent:

Credit: Meteorological Service Singapore.

It becomes clear that this was a phenomenon that affected not just Singapore, but much of the surrounding region. The fate of the entire region was intertwined with that of Singapore’s.

This simple but crucial act of zooming out is also needed when studying History, especially Singapore history. Singapore has become what it is today by being plugged into an international network. Hence, stories in Singapore are usually part of larger narratives of a regional or international nature. This is true with regards to political history, military history, economic history, transport history, and so on. Zooming out to see the big picture is a necessary endeavour.