Most of Malaysia lies just north of the equator with a hot and humid weather, REZA AZMI gives some seasonal tips to think about to get the most of your outdoor experience.

Written by Reza Azmi on 29 Apr 2002 with 0 comments. Be the first!

Most of Malaysia (Peninsular & Borneo) lies between the equator and the northern 7° latitude. So for the most part, we experience a predominantly equatorial climate (i.e., it's hot and humid for most of the year). However, we do experience some seasonality, although to the visiting traveller, this may not be too obvious. The seasonality in Malaysia is important to consider because this has a bearing on whether you enjoy your trip to Malaysia or not, especially so if you want to get outdoors to watch wildlife and explore our forests! Life in the everwet tropics of Malaysia is not constant and the patterns of flowering or fruiting, leaf-growth or leaf-fall, insect-boom are all tied in with whether or not you might see an Argus pheasant in our tropical spring or not. So take heed of our "seasons" before your travels.

Patterns of Rainfall in Malaysia

Adapted from the Malaysian Meteorological Department

Peninsular Malaysia

Over the east coast districts (Kelantan, Terengganu, Johor, Pahang), November, December and January are the months with maximum rainfall, while June and July are, generally, the driest months. Most island resorts on the east coast during the wet, monsoonal, periods would have been closed tourist.

Over the rest of the Peninsula, with the exception of the Southwest coastal area (Johor), the monthly rainfall pattern shows two periods of maximum rainfall separated by two periods of minimum rainfall (i.e., between the two monsoons, we experience low periods of rain, sometimes even periods of drought). The first wet season occurs in October-November while April-May are also wet months. Over the north-western region (Perlis, Kedah), the driest months occur in January-February, furthermore, June-July are also dry (inter-monsoon) months. Elsewhere in Peninsular Malaysia the driest months usually occur in June-July with the inter-monsoon months seeing drier weather in February.

The rainfall pattern over the Southwest coastal area (Johor or Malacca) does not conform to the above patterns as these states are affected by early morning "Sumatra-rains" between May to August. In these states, October and November are the wettest months and February the driest.

Sabah and Sarawak

The coastal areas of Sarawak and Northeast Sabah experience similar rainfall patterns, but the periods of drought between these two regions differ somewhat. While the wettest month occurs during January in both areas, the drier months vary between these regions. In the coastal areas of Sarawak, the driest months are between June and July while in the Northeast coastal areas of Sabah, this is in April. The wettest months occur during the Northeast monsoon usually between December and March.

Inland areas of Sarawak generally experience quite evenly distributed annual rainfall. Nevertheless, slightly less rainfall is received during the period June to August, which corresponds to the prevailing south-westerly winds. It must be pointed out that the highest annual rainfall area in Malaysia may well be found on the hill slopes of inland Sarawak. Long Akah, by virtue of its location, receives a mean annual rainfall of more than 5000 mm!

The Northwest coast of Sabah experiences a rainfall regime of which two maxima and two minima can be distinctly identified. The wettest months occurs around October and a somewhat wet month also occurs in June. The dry months occur in February followed by August. The inter-monsoonal "drought" van be severe in this part of Sabah especially during el nino years.

In the central parts of Sabah where the land is hilly and sheltered by mountain ranges, the rainfall received is relatively lower than other regions and is evenly distributed. In general, the driest months occur in February and August while the wettest months are in May and October. Southern Sabah has evenly distributed rainfall. The annual rainfall total received is comparable to the central part of Sabah.

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