Climate of Malaysia
Map of Malaysia The climate of Malaysia is driven by its equatorial position, extensive coastlines on tropical seas and monsoonal winds. Because Malaysia is situatedbetweenone and six degrees North latitude, Malaysia has an equatorial climate with uniformly high temperatures, high humidity, relatively light winds, andabundant rainfall throughout the year. Themain causes ofclimatic variationwithinMalaysia are differencesin altitude and the exposure of the coastal lowlands to the alternating southwest and northeast monsoon winds. Thesouthwest monsoon windsblow from April to September and thenortheast monsoon winds blow from November to February.
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Winds
There are four seasons ofmonsoomwinds;the longest in duration beingthe southwest monsoon and the northeast monsoon.Two shorter periods of inter-monsoon seasons. The southwest monsoon season usually beginsin theof May or early June and ends in September and the prevailing wind flow is generally southwesterly and light, below 15 knots. The northeast monsoon season usuallybegins in early November and ends in March and steady easterly or northeasterly winds blowing 10 to 20 knots. During the two intermonsoon seasons, the winds are generally light and variable.
Because much ofMalaysia is located near the coast, land and sea breezescan affectwind flow pattern. Sea breezes of 10 to 15 knots often develop on sunny afternoons,blowingtens of kilometers inland. On clear nights, weaker land breezescan also develop over the coastal areas.
Note: see Local and regional wind systems for a discussion of the causes of wind.
Precipitation
Climate Graph for Kuala Lumpur. Source: BBC Weather Precipitation is high in most parts of Malaysia. For example Kuala Lumpurreveives over 2400 mm per year, Penang over 2700 mm per year, Kuching inSarawak over 3900 mm per year, and Labuan inSabah over 3500 mm per year of precipitation.
Patterns of Precipitation
Patterns of precipitation are determined by seasonal wind flow patternsand local topographic features. The east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, western Sarawak and the northeast coast of Sabah experience heavy rain during the northeast monsoon.
Peninsular Malaysia
In the states of the East Coast, November, December and January are the wettest months while June and July are the driest months. Most of the rest of the peninsula has peaks of high rainfall (October through November and April through May) followed by periods of lower rainfall (January through February and June through July). On avereage Kuala Lumpur receives 195 daysand Penang receives 154 days of rain each year.
Sarawak and Sabah
Climate Graph for Kuching, Sarawak. Source: BBC Weather Maximum rainfall in the coastal areas of Sarawak and northeast Sabahoccurduring January with minimal rainfall In the coastal Sarawak ocurringin June or Julyand inthe northeast coastal Sabah in April. Two peaks of rainfall occur in he northwest [[coastal] areas] of Sabah (October and June). Rainfall is more evenly distributed throught the year ininland areas of Sarawak,southern Sabah,andf the central parts of Sabah.On average Kuching receives 255 days and Labuan receives 191 days of rain each year.
Sunlight
Malaysiareceives sunlight throughout the year, although it is rare to have a full day with clear skies. On the average, Malaysia receives about 6 hours of sunshine per day with the sunniest regions, Alor Setar and Kota Bharu, receiving about 7 hoursof sunshine per daywhile Kuching receives only five hours per day.
Temperature
Malaysia has uniformly high temperatures throughout the year. In mst areastheaverage maximum and minimum temperature per moenth vary less than 2°C annually. Temperature can range daily between 5°C to 10°Cnear thecoast and from 8° C to 12°C inland.. For example the monthly average maximum temperatureranges from 32- 33° C year iin Kuala Lumpur, 31- 33° C in Penang, 29- 33° C o Kuching, and 30- 32° C in Labuan. The montly average minimum temperatureranges from 22- 23° C year iin Kuala Lumpur, 23-24° C in Penang, 22=23° Cin Kuching, and 24-24° C in Labuan
Relative Humidity
The relative humidity in Malaysia is high, ranging from 70 to 90%. Humidity varies more throughout the day than it does annually.
