Malaysia Climate
Top 5 Cities: Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Ipoh, Kuching, and George Town
This month in numbers
Malaysia experienced its 19th warmest April on record, with an average temperature of 26.02°C, an anomaly of +0.7°C compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. The period of February–April 2026 ranked as the 11th warmest on record, with an average temperature of 25.79°C, an anomaly of +0.9°C. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C.
What changed
Malaysia's recent warmth is part of a longer-term trend, with 2025 being the warmest year on record. The country's 3-month anomaly of +0.93°C places it 199th out of 234 regions in terms of warming compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. The broader Asian region also experienced significant warmth, with a group mean anomaly of +1.77°C for April.
What’s driving change?
The current climate patterns in Malaysia are being influenced by the evolving ENSO state. While the current NOAA ONI 3-month (February-April 2026) indicates Neutral conditions with an anomaly of +0.11°C, there is a strong forecast for an El Niño event to develop, with a 61% probability for May-July and rising to 87% for July-September. El Niño typically brings warmer and drier conditions to Maritime Southeast Asia, often leading to severe drought and increased risk of peatland and forest fires. Malaysia has already been experiencing a drought since January 2026, which represents 100% of the drought events logged for the past 12 months, an unusual concentration for the region. This has led to concerns about water supply and agricultural output, particularly rice production, with cloud seeding operations being planned for drought-hit areas. The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister has also warned of a continuing dry spell with temperatures soaring to 37.5°C, and the risk of transboundary haze due to prolonged lack of rain. More information on active extreme weather events can be found at Extreme Weather tracker and the ENSO state at ENSO tracker.
Looking ahead
The strong forecast for an El Niño event to develop and strengthen in the coming months suggests that Malaysia can expect continued warmer and drier conditions, potentially exacerbating the current drought and increasing the risk of haze and impacts on food security.
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
Loading climate data...
Data Sources
Data Sources for Malaysia
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in Malaysia changing?
Malaysia is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for Malaysia come from?
Climate data for Malaysia comes from Our World in Data, sourcing Copernicus ERA5 and HadCRUT5 (national temperature anomaly) and the Global Carbon Project via Our World in Data (CO₂ emissions), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the Malaysia climate data cover?
The Malaysia climate profile covers Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Ipoh, Kuching and surrounding areas. Temperature, rainfall and emissions data for Malaysia
How often is the Malaysia climate update refreshed?
The Malaysia climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.