When to visit Malaysia: the seasons, region by region

Two monsoon regimes, the inter-monsoon phases, and when each region gets its rain.

By the Local SIM Malaysia team, checked October 2, 2026

Illustration: a sun and a dark rain cloud side by side over a rainforest river with stilted houses, a thermometer planted in a planter in the foreground.

The short answer

Malaysia's weather runs on two monsoon regimes: the Northeast Monsoon from November to March, the country's main rainy season, and the Southwest Monsoon from late May to September, relatively drier for the whole country except Sabah. Between them come the inter-monsoon phases, when the wind turns light and afternoon thunderstorms build.

Northeast Monsoon: November to March, the main rainy season, with heavy rain and floods on the east coast of the peninsula, in Sarawak and in Sabah.
Southwest Monsoon: late May to September, relatively drier for the whole country except Sabah, which stays wetter than the rest.
Inter-monsoon phases: the changeovers between the two monsoons, with light winds and afternoon thunderstorms; the west coast of the peninsula gets its heaviest monthly rain then.
Rainfall: most states record their lowest monthly totals, 100 to 150 mm, in the southwest monsoon, and Sabah stays above 200 mm.
Haze: burning can lift air pollution to unhealthy levels, especially from June to October; check the air quality index.

Checked October 2, 2026

The regions, month by month

Region	The seasons	Rain
Kuala Lumpur and the west coast	The changeovers between the monsoons bring the stormiest spells	Afternoon thunderstorms peak in the inter-monsoon phases
The east coast (Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, East Johor)	The Northeast Monsoon, November to March, is the main rainy season	Heavy rain that often causes large floods
Sarawak	Heavy rain arrives with the Northeast Monsoon, especially in the west of the state	November to March
Sabah	Wetter than the rest of the country in the Southwest Monsoon, and heavy rain in the Northeast Monsoon too	Over 200 mm a month in the southwest monsoon

Kuala Lumpur and the west coast
The seasons
The changeovers between the monsoons bring the stormiest spells
Rain
Afternoon thunderstorms peak in the inter-monsoon phases
The east coast (Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, East Johor)
The seasons
The Northeast Monsoon, November to March, is the main rainy season
Rain
Heavy rain that often causes large floods
Sarawak
The seasons
Heavy rain arrives with the Northeast Monsoon, especially in the west of the state
Rain
November to March
Sabah
The seasons
Wetter than the rest of the country in the Southwest Monsoon, and heavy rain in the Northeast Monsoon too
Rain
Over 200 mm a month in the southwest monsoon

Region by region

The west coast
Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Malacca sit in the peninsula's rain shadow: relatively drier months inside the southwest monsoon, with thunderstorms building at the changeovers between the monsoons.
The east coast
Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and East Johor take the Northeast Monsoon head-on, with heavy rain and large floods from November to March.
Borneo
In Sarawak the heavy rain comes with the Northeast Monsoon; Sabah stays wetter than the rest of the country even in the southwest monsoon.
Warnings
Seasonal storms bring flooding and landslides, and the timing depends on where you are; the meteorological department posts warnings on its website and in the myCuaca app.

The bottom line

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The rains do not arrive everywhere at once: check the wet months of each stop, then plan the route around them.

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Questions

What is the best time to visit Malaysia?

There is no single window for the whole country: the Southwest Monsoon, from late May to September, is relatively drier except in Sabah, while the Northeast Monsoon, from November to March, brings heavy rain and floods to the east coast of the peninsula, Sarawak and Sabah. The west coast gets its heaviest thunderstorms at the changeovers between the two.

What is the Malaysia weather like in the rainy season?

The Northeast Monsoon, from November to March, is the country's main rainy season, with heavy rain that often causes floods on the east coast of the peninsula and in Sarawak and Sabah. The Southwest Monsoon, from late May to September, is relatively drier for most of the country, except Sabah.

When is the wettest time on the east coast?

The east coast states of Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and East Johor see heavy rain and large floods inside the Northeast Monsoon, from November to March, as the meteorological department's own description puts it.