Langkawi Andaman Sea islands
Best months: January to February. Rainiest: May to November. Highs range from 84°F (29°C) to 92°F (33°C), sea 84–88°F (29–31°C).
Best Time to Visit Malaysia
The best time to visit Malaysia: on Langkawi, January to February; in Kuala Lumpur, February; in Borneo, February to April. The wettest stretch in Kuala Lumpur is April, November, December. It is hottest on Langkawi in March, with highs of 92°F (33°C). It is coolest in Borneo in January, with highs of 83°F (28°C).
Climate normals were checked on September 29, 2026, over a year ago. An update is due.
Climate normals checked September 29, 2026 · Source: Open-Meteo (ERA5) · How we calculate
Malaysia weather by month
Colour shows the month rating for the best region. See the table below for month-by-month details.
- Jan87°FJanuary: Excellent
- Feb90°FFebruary: Excellent
- Mar85°FMarch: Good
- Apr86°FApril: Good
- May87°FMay: Mixed
- Jun87°FJune: Mixed
- Jul87°FJuly: Mixed
- Aug87°FAugust: Mixed
- Sep87°FSeptember: Mixed
- Oct87°FOctober: Mixed
- Nov84°FNovember: Mixed
- Dec85°FDecember: Mixed
Excellent Good Mixed Off-season
Malaysia air and sea temperature by month
- Langkawi: air
- Langkawi: sea
- Kuala Lumpur: air
- Borneo (Kota Kinabalu): air
- Borneo (Kota Kinabalu): sea
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Langkawi: air | 87 | 90 | 92 | 89 | 87 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 85 |
| Langkawi: sea | 84 | 85 | 86 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 85 |
| Kuala Lumpur: air | 86 | 88 | 89 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 86 |
| Borneo (Kota Kinabalu): air | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 84 | 84 |
| Borneo (Kota Kinabalu): sea | 84 | 83 | 83 | 86 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 87 | 86 | 86 | 87 | 86 |
Malaysia weather table, month by month
Long-term averages for each region. Tap a region to open its table.
Langkawi · Andaman Sea islands
| Month | Day high | Night low | Sea | Rainy days | Rainfall | Humidity | Sun, h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 87°F (30°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 84°F (29°C) | 12 | 3.1 in (79 mm) | 76% | 10.0 |
| February | 90°F (32°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 85°F (30°C) | 8 | 2.0 in (50 mm) | 70% | 10.6 |
| March | 92°F (33°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 86°F (30°C) | 13 | 3.5 in (88 mm) | 72% | 10.7 |
| April | 89°F (31°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 88°F (31°C) | 25 | 7.8 in (198 mm) | 81% | 10.1 |
| May | 87°F (30°C) | 78°F (25°C) | 88°F (31°C) | 28 | 12.3 in (313 mm) | 85% | 9.1 |
| June | 85°F (30°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 88°F (31°C) | 23 | 8.4 in (214 mm) | 85% | 9.4 |
| July | 85°F (29°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 88°F (31°C) | 25 | 9.4 in (238 mm) | 85% | 9.3 |
| August | 85°F (29°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 88°F (31°C) | 26 | 11.5 in (293 mm) | 85% | 9.2 |
| September | 84°F (29°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 87°F (30°C) | 27 | 12.0 in (306 mm) | 86% | 8.6 |
| October | 84°F (29°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 87°F (30°C) | 27 | 13.2 in (335 mm) | 87% | 8.6 |
| November | 84°F (29°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 86°F (30°C) | 28 | 12.4 in (314 mm) | 88% | 8.2 |
| December | 85°F (29°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 85°F (29°C) | 17 | 6.4 in (163 mm) | 83% | 9.0 |
Kuala Lumpur · capital, city break
| Month | Day high | Night low | Rainy days | Rainfall | Humidity | Sun, h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 86°F (30°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 22 | 8.7 in (222 mm) | 83% | 8.9 |
| February | 88°F (31°C) | 74°F (24°C) | 17 | 4.6 in (117 mm) | 78% | 10.0 |
| March | 89°F (32°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 25 | 8.8 in (223 mm) | 81% | 10.0 |
| April | 88°F (31°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 28 | 11.3 in (288 mm) | 84% | 9.3 |
| May | 88°F (31°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 28 | 10.8 in (274 mm) | 85% | 8.9 |
| June | 87°F (31°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 23 | 7.4 in (187 mm) | 83% | 9.3 |
| July | 87°F (31°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 22 | 7.1 in (181 mm) | 82% | 9.6 |
| August | 87°F (30°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 25 | 8.9 in (227 mm) | 83% | 9.1 |
| September | 87°F (30°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 25 | 10.0 in (253 mm) | 83% | 8.9 |
| October | 87°F (30°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 24 | 10.8 in (274 mm) | 84% | 8.7 |
| November | 86°F (30°C) | 74°F (24°C) | 29 | 15.0 in (380 mm) | 87% | 7.5 |
| December | 86°F (30°C) | 74°F (24°C) | 27 | 12.3 in (313 mm) | 86% | 8.2 |
Borneo (Kota Kinabalu) · Sabah, South China Sea
| Month | Day high | Night low | Sea | Rainy days | Rainfall | Humidity | Sun, h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 83°F (28°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 84°F (29°C) | 21 | 9.5 in (241 mm) | 86% | 8.9 |
| February | 84°F (29°C) | 74°F (24°C) | 83°F (28°C) | 14 | 3.7 in (95 mm) | 84% | 9.9 |
| March | 85°F (29°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 83°F (28°C) | 17 | 4.3 in (109 mm) | 83% | 10.3 |
| April | 86°F (30°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 86°F (30°C) | 20 | 5.3 in (135 mm) | 82% | 10.5 |
| May | 87°F (30°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 87°F (31°C) | 22 | 9.6 in (245 mm) | 82% | 9.8 |
| June | 86°F (30°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 87°F (31°C) | 20 | 8.7 in (220 mm) | 81% | 9.3 |
| July | 86°F (30°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 87°F (30°C) | 20 | 8.7 in (221 mm) | 80% | 9.5 |
| August | 86°F (30°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 87°F (31°C) | 21 | 9.4 in (238 mm) | 80% | 9.3 |
| September | 85°F (30°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 86°F (30°C) | 22 | 11.1 in (283 mm) | 82% | 8.9 |
| October | 84°F (29°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 86°F (30°C) | 26 | 13.9 in (353 mm) | 85% | 8.5 |
| November | 84°F (29°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 87°F (30°C) | 25 | 9.7 in (247 mm) | 86% | 9.0 |
| December | 84°F (29°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 86°F (30°C) | 25 | 10.6 in (269 mm) | 86% | 8.6 |
Best time to visit Malaysia for beaches, sightseeing and savings
| Goal | When to go |
|---|---|
| Beach holiday | Langkawi: January to March Borneo (Kota Kinabalu): February to April |
| Sightseeing | Langkawi: January Borneo (Kota Kinabalu): February |
| Peak season | January to February |
| Cheaper: shoulder season | March, December |
- Beach holiday — sea 75°F (24°C)+, highs 75–95°F (24–35°C), rain under 150 mm
- Sightseeing — highs 63–88°F (17–31°C), rain under 100 mm
- Peak season — the best weather rating of the year
- Cheaper: shoulder season — months next to peak season, weather still decent
Shoulder season is a weather-based estimate, not a price check: demand is lower in these months, so flights and hotels are usually cheaper than at peak. We do not compare prices here; check them for your dates.
- Compare with other destinations: where to go in January, where to go in February.
How to use it
- Read the calendar: green is in season, red is off-season.
- Open a region table for highs and lows, sea temperature, rainfall, rainy days, humidity and sunshine.
- Pick your goal in the “When to go” block: beach, sightseeing or shoulder season.
- Compare with other destinations in “Where to go” for your month.
When to visit each region of Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur capital, city break
Best months: February. Rainiest: March to May, August to January. Highs range from 86°F (30°C) to 89°F (32°C).
Borneo (Kota Kinabalu) Sabah, South China Sea
Best months: February to April. Rainiest: May to January. Highs range from 83°F (28°C) to 87°F (30°C), sea 82–88°F (28–31°C).
Best time to visit Malaysia: FAQ
When is the best time to visit Malaysia?
The best time to visit Malaysia: on Langkawi, January to February; in Kuala Lumpur, February; in Borneo, February to April. The wettest stretch in Kuala Lumpur is April, November, December. It is hottest on Langkawi in March, with highs of 92°F (33°C). It is coolest in Borneo in January, with highs of 83°F (28°C).
What is Malaysia's rainy season?
Months with more than 200 mm (7.9 in) of rain: on Langkawi, May to November; in Kuala Lumpur, March to May, August to January; in Borneo, May to January. The wettest month in Kuala Lumpur is November, with about 15.0 in (380 mm).
Is Malaysia hot all year?
Day highs on Langkawi range from 84°F (29°C) to 92°F (33°C). The hottest month is March on Langkawi, at 92°F (33°C).
Where the data comes from
- Air temperature, rainfall, humidity — ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus / ECMWF) via Open-Meteo, averaged over 2015–2024. Each region uses one point: the resort or city in its caption.
- Sea temperature — Open-Meteo Marine, average sea surface temperature for 2023–2026 (the source has no longer record yet).
- Sunshine — sunshine duration from the same ERA5 reanalysis (Open-Meteo), average hours of sun per day for the month, 2015–2024.
- Rainy days — days with at least 1 mm (0.04 in) of rain. Reanalysis picks up light rain more often than weather stations, so treat this as an upper bound.
- Month rating — one rule for every destination, based on three factors: day highs (ideal 75–91°F / 24–33°C), monthly rainfall (ideal under 80 mm / 3.1 in) and, for beach regions, sea temperature (ideal 77°F / 25°C or warmer). All ideal means Excellent; one slightly weaker factor means Good. Mixed means heavy rain (150 mm / 5.9 in or more), highs above 97°F (36°C) or a sea below 70°F (21°C). Off-season means highs of 100°F (38°C) or more, cold below 54°F (12°C), over 350 mm (13.8 in) of rain, or several problems at once. A country's rating follows its best region, so check the regional table.
- Licence — weather data by Open-Meteo.com under CC BY 4.0; ERA5 reanalysis by the Copernicus Climate Change Service / ECMWF. The normals are precomputed and stored on this site, so the page sends no requests to the source.
Checked September 29, 2026. Climate normals are refreshed yearly and the notes every 90 days. These are long-term averages, not a forecast: any given year can differ.
