Kuala Lumpur climate
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af). The average temperature over the year is 27 °C80 °F, and about 2,521 mm99 in of precipitation falls in an average year.
Temperature by month
Precipitation by month
Kuala Lumpur climate table
| Month | High °C°F | Low °C°F | Mean °C°F | Precip. mmin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2985 | 2272 | 2679 | 2068.1 |
| Feb | 3087 | 2272 | 2679 | 1576.2 |
| Mar | 3187 | 2373 | 2780 | 1947.7 |
| Apr | 3188 | 2475 | 2781 | 2509.8 |
| May | 3187 | 2476 | 2781 | 1726.8 |
| Jun | 3086 | 2475 | 2780 | 1556.1 |
| Jul | 2985 | 2374 | 2680 | 1696.7 |
| Aug | 3085 | 2374 | 2780 | 1847.2 |
| Sep | 3086 | 2374 | 2780 | 1957.7 |
| Oct | 3086 | 2374 | 2780 | 26310 |
| Nov | 3085 | 2374 | 2680 | 31412 |
| Dec | 2984 | 2373 | 2679 | 26310 |
| Year | 3188 | 2272 | 2780 | 2,52199 |
“Year” row: highest monthly high, lowest monthly low, annual mean and annual total.
| Month | Humid. | Cloud | Solar | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 88% | 82% | 4.6 | 11:57 |
| Feb | 86% | 76% | 5.2 | 12:01 |
| Mar | 85% | 79% | 5.3 | 12:05 |
| Apr | 86% | 83% | 5.2 | 12:11 |
| May | 87% | 85% | 5.0 | 12:16 |
| Jun | 87% | 82% | 4.9 | 12:18 |
| Jul | 87% | 84% | 4.8 | 12:17 |
| Aug | 87% | 86% | 4.8 | 12:13 |
| Sep | 87% | 88% | 4.7 | 12:08 |
| Oct | 87% | 91% | 4.6 | 12:03 |
| Nov | 88% | 92% | 4.4 | 11:58 |
| Dec | 89% | 90% | 4.2 | 11:56 |
Humid. = average relative humidity at 2 m; cloud = average cloud amount; solar = average daily solar energy reaching the ground in kWh/m² (all-sky); daylight in hours:minutes, calculated for the 15th of each month.
What the climate of Kuala Lumpur is like
The warmest month is May, with an average high of 31 °C87 °F and a low of 24 °C76 °F. The coldest is January, when highs average 29 °C85 °F and lows 22 °C72 °F. Temperatures barely change through the year: the warmest and the coolest month differ by only 1.6 °C2.8 °F.
It is very wet, receiving about 2,521 mm99 in of precipitation per year. The wettest three-month stretch is October–December, which brings 33% of the annual total. The wettest month is November (314 mm12 in), the driest is June (155 mm6.1 in).
Relative humidity ranges from 85% in March to 89% in December. The clearest skies (lowest average cloud amount, 76%) are typical of February. Average wind speed near the ground ranges from 2 km/h (1 mph) in April to 3 km/h (2 mph) in January.
Best time to visit Kuala Lumpur
No month comes close to our comfort ideal here. The least demanding months are February, June and July (average highs 30 °C87 °F, 30 °C86 °F and 29 °C85 °F).
The most challenging month is November, which is very wet (314 mm12 in) and humid (88% relative humidity).
Comfort score: months are ranked by how close they come to an average high of 21–28 °C (70–82 °F), lows above 5 °C (41 °F), little precipitation and moderate humidity. The best-ranked months of each place are recommended, even where none meets all of these. These are general rules of thumb applied to long-term averages.
What to pack for Kuala Lumpur
- Wetter months (April, October–December) — highs 2984 to 31 °C88 °F, lows 2373 to 24 °C75 °F, about 272 mm11 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and a good rain jacket or umbrella and quick-drying shoes.
- Drier months (January–March, May–September) — highs 2985 to 31 °C87 °F, lows 2272 to 24 °C76 °F, about 179 mm7.0 in of precipitation a month. Pack light summer clothes such as T-shirts, shorts or light dresses and an umbrella or light rain jacket.
How Kuala Lumpur compares
Compared with Singapore, about 316 km to the southeast, Kuala Lumpur is on average 0.5 °C0.8 °F cooler and receives 6% more precipitation (2,521 mm99 in vs 2,368 mm93 in). The difference is largest in October (0.7 °C1.3 °F cooler).
Of the 32 places in Malaysia covered by World Climates, Kuala Lumpur is the 28th warmest by annual mean temperature and the 18th wettest by annual precipitation. See all of them on the Malaysia climate page.
Places in other countries with the most similar temperature and rainfall pattern: Dumai (Indonesia, Af), Pekanbaru (Indonesia, Af) and Singapore (Singapore, Af).
The same NASA POWER grid cell also contains Petaling Jaya (pop. 807,879), Kota Damansara (pop. 500,000), Taman Petaling (pop. 423,062), Puchong (pop. 375,181), Setapak (pop. 353,268), Batu Caves (pop. 254,083), Wangsa Maju (pop. 215,600), Bandar Utama (pop. 200,000), Bukit Jalil (pop. 200,000), Cheras (pop. 135,823), Seri Kembangan (pop. 130,252) and Ampang (pop. 126,285) and 4 more places. Their long-term averages in this dataset are essentially the same as for Kuala Lumpur, so they do not have separate pages.
Nearby places
- Selayang Baru Utara 13 km · 27 °C80 °F · 2,556 mm101 in
- Kampung Baru Subang 17 km · 28 °C82 °F · 2,629 mm104 in
- Kajang 20 km · 27 °C80 °F · 2,521 mm99 in
- Bandar Tasik Puteri 29 km · 27 °C81 °F · 2,657 mm105 in
- Seremban 54 km · 27 °C81 °F · 2,406 mm95 in
- Malacca 122 km · 28 °C82 °F · 2,236 mm88 in
- Teluk Intan 123 km · 27 °C81 °F · 2,564 mm101 in
- Maran 130 km · 27 °C80 °F · 2,698 mm106 in
Frequently asked questions
What is the warmest month in Kuala Lumpur?
May is the warmest month in Kuala Lumpur, with an average high of 31 °C (87 °F) and an average low of 24 °C (76 °F).
What is the coldest month in Kuala Lumpur?
January is the coldest month, with an average high of 29 °C (85 °F) and an average low of 22 °C (72 °F).
When does it rain the most in Kuala Lumpur?
November is the wettest month with about 314 mm (12.4 in) of precipitation; June is the driest with about 155 mm (6.1 in).
About this data
All figures are 25-year averages (January 2001 – December 2025) from the NASA POWER project. Temperature, humidity, wind and precipitation come from the MERRA-2 reanalysis (precipitation is the bias-corrected MERRA-2 product), cloud and solar values from CERES satellite data. They describe a grid cell of roughly 50–70 km, not a single weather station, so they can differ from airport records — most of all on coasts, in mountains and for rainfall. Average highs and lows are the monthly mean temperature plus/minus half of the average daily temperature range. Counts of rainy days are not part of this dataset.
The grid cell’s average elevation is 232 m, while Kuala Lumpur lies at about 56 m. Temperatures on this page were therefore adjusted by +1.1 °C2.1 °F using the standard lapse rate of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m.