Climate averages 1991–2020
Sandakan weather
by month.
See how the year changes. May has the highest average daily maximum; April has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Sandakan averages a daytime high of 29.4°C and a nighttime low of 24.3°C, with about 2,890 mm of rain on roughly 317 days. May is the warmest month (average high 30.3°C) and January the coolest (27.8°C). December is the wettest month with 289 mm; April is the driest with 169 mm.
The annual picture
A year in Sandakan
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Sandakan climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27.8°C23.8°C | 23.8°C | 287 | 27.8 | 11.812 h |
| February | 28.1°C23.8°C | 23.8°C | 217 | 23.8 | 11.912 h |
| March | 29.0°C24.1°C | 24.1°C | 197 | 23.5 | 12.112 h |
| April | 30.0°C24.6°C | 24.6°C | 169 | 21.9 | 12.212 h |
| May | 30.3°C24.9°C | 24.9°C | 237 | 26.9 | 12.412 h |
| June | 30.1°C24.6°C | 24.6°C | 244 | 26.3 | 12.512 h |
| July | 30.0°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 222 | 26.0 | 12.412 h |
| August | 30.2°C24.5°C | 24.5°C | 225 | 26.6 | 12.312 h |
| September | 30.1°C24.4°C | 24.4°C | 243 | 26.8 | 12.212 h |
| October | 29.5°C24.2°C | 24.2°C | 282 | 29.0 | 12.012 h |
| November | 28.9°C24.1°C | 24.1°C | 278 | 28.5 | 11.912 h |
| December | 28.5°C24.0°C | 24.0°C | 289 | 29.5 | 11.812 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
Nearby cities
- Lahad DatuMalaysia · 94 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 24.0°C · 1,864 mm rain a year
- TawauMalaysia · 179 kmHigh 29.1°C · Low 24.2°C · 2,162 mm rain a year
- KeningauMalaysia · 224 kmHigh 29.5°C · Low 21.6°C · 1,709 mm rain a year
- Kota KinabaluMalaysia · 227 kmHigh 28.8°C · Low 24.1°C · 2,028 mm rain a year
- PutatanMalaysia · 228 kmHigh 28.9°C · Low 23.9°C · 2,028 mm rain a year
- TarakanIndonesia · 287 kmHigh 28.1°C · Low 24.8°C · 2,885 mm rain a year
- JoloPhilippines · 320 kmHigh 28.0°C · Low 25.9°C · 1,220 mm rain a year
- LabuanMalaysia · 324 kmHigh 29.2°C · Low 25.1°C · 1,644 mm rain a year
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC+8, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at 5.90°, 118.10° (7 km from the city centre). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at 5.75°, 118.00°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.