Home › Cities › Malaysia › Sandakan
Sandakan, Malaysia climate
Af Tropical rainforest
Sandakan has a remarkably steady tropical climate (Tropical rainforest, Köppen Af). The hottest month is May with an average daily high near 91°F, while the coldest is January averaging around 75°F at night. Around 127 inches of precipitation falls each year, peaking in January (18.0 inches) and easing off in May (5.7 inches).
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresClear vs cloudy days
Share of days each month that are clear, partly cloudy or cloudy · 1991–2020 · hover a month for the day countsSandakan climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 85 | 86 | 87 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 90 | 91 | 90 | 89 | 88 | 86 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 80 | 81 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 83 | 83 | 83 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 81 |
| Avg low (°F) | 75 | 75 | 76 | 76 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| Precipitation (in) | 18.0 | 12.1 | 8.2 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 7.2 | 8.7 | 9.8 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 12.8 | 16.9 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 85 | 86 | 87 | 89 | 91 | 91 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 80 | 81 | 81 | 83 | 84 | 83 |
| Avg low (°F) | 75 | 75 | 76 | 76 | 77 | 76 |
| Precipitation (in) | 18.0 | 12.1 | 8.2 | 6.2 | 5.7 | 7.2 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 90 | 91 | 90 | 89 | 88 | 86 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 83 | 83 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 81 |
| Avg low (°F) | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 75 |
| Precipitation (in) | 8.7 | 9.8 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 12.8 | 16.9 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 19 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 22 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | 0.6 | 0.2 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 19 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | 0.6 | 0.2 | 3 | 10 | 17 | 16 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 12 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 20 | 22 |
| Days with high ≥ 90°F (days) | 15 | 17 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 74 | 67 | 59 | 54 | 62 | 69 | 73 | 70 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 74 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 9 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 19 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 19 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 87 | 85 | 84 | 82 | 84 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 74 | 67 | 59 | 54 | 62 | 69 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 9 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 11 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 19 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 16 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 87 | 85 | 84 | 82 | 84 | 85 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.5 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 3.3 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 73 | 70 | 73 | 74 | 71 | 74 |
| Clear days (≤ 30% cloud) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Partly cloudy days (30–70%) | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
| Cloudy days (≥ 70%) | 18 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 19 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 85 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 4.5 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 24 years of daily observations at Sandakan, a weather station, about 9 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.