Abstract As part of the Seven Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) program, an Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sun photometer and a Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) instrument have been deployed at Singapore to study the regional aerosol environment of the Maritime Continent (MC). Using coincident AERONET Level 2.0 and MPLNET Level 2.0a data from 24 September 2009 to 31 March 2011, the seasonal variability of aerosol particle vertical distributions and optical properties is examined. On average, the bulk (∼65%) of aerosol extinction is found below 1.5 km with substantial aerosol loading (∼35%) above. Possibly due to the transition from El Nino to La Nina conditions and subsequent reduction in fire events, the MPLNET mean integrated aerosol extinction is observed to be the lowest for July–September 2010, which coincides with the typical MC biomass burning season. On the other hand, the highest mean integrated extinctions are derived for January–March 2010 and 2011, which can be attributed to off-season MC biomass burning smoke and anthropogenic pollution. The seasonal lidar ratios also show higher occurrences ≥60 sr, which are indicative of biomass burning smoke, for October 2009–June 2010, but such occurrences decrease from July 2010 to March 2011 when La Nina conditions prevail. In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) identifies five primary aerosol vertical profile types over Singapore, i.e. strongly-capped/deep near-surface layer (SCD; 0–1.35 km), enhanced mid-level layer (EML; 1.35–2.4 km), enhanced upper-level layer (EUL; 2.4–3.525 km), deep contiguous layer (DCL; 3.525–4.95 km) and deep multi-layer (DML; >4.95 km). PCA also identifies an off-season MC biomass burning smoke event from 22 February to 8 March 2010, which is subsequently examined in detail.