Climatology
This page presents Malaysia's climate context for the current climatology, 1991-2020, derived from observed, historical data. Information should be used to build a strong understanding of current climate conditions in order to appreciate future climate scenarios and projected change. You can visualize data for the current climatology through spatial variation, the seasonal cycle, or as a time series. Analysis is available for both annual and seasonal data. Data presentation defaults to national-scale aggregation, however sub-national data aggregations can be accessed by clicking within a country, on a sub-national unit. Other historical climatologies can be selected from the Time Period dropdown list.
Observed, historical data is produced by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of University of East Anglia. Data is presented at a 0.5º x 0.5º (50km x 50km) resolution.
Malaysia has a tropical climate. Malaysia’s mean annual temperature is 25.4°C. There is relatively little seasonal variability in average monthly temperature, ranging one degree Celsius between a minimum of 24.9°C in January and maximum of 25.9°C in May. April, May and June are the hottest months of the year. Rainfall also remains high year-round, with mean annual precipitation of 3,085.5 millimeters (mm). Average monthly precipitation is also relatively constant throughout the year, ranging between approximately 200 mm during June and July and 350 mm in November and December. There are two monsoon seasons: the Southwest Monsoon (April-September) and the Northeast Monsoon (October-March). Malaysia receives about six hours of direct sunlight per day, with cloud cover most likely during the afternoon/evening.