Best Time to Visit Kota Kinabalu
The best time to visit Kota Kinabalu is February to April, when the average temperature is 24–25°C and rainfall is low for Kota Kinabalu, at 98–138 mm a month.
Kota Kinabalu weather by month
The wettest month in Kota Kinabalu is October with 356 mm of rain, and the warmest is April at an average 25°C. The coolest is February at 24°C.
| Month | Average temperature | Rainfall | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 24°C / 75°F | 197 mm | Wet |
| February | 24°C / 75°F | 98 mm | Best |
| March | 25°C / 76°F | 123 mm | Best |
| April | 25°C / 78°F | 138 mm | Best |
| May | 25°C / 78°F | 218 mm | Wet |
| June | 25°C / 77°F | 263 mm | Wet |
| July | 25°C / 76°F | 259 mm | Wet |
| August | 25°C / 76°F | 239 mm | Wet |
| September | 25°C / 76°F | 272 mm | Wet |
| October | 25°C / 76°F | 356 mm | Wet |
| November | 25°C / 76°F | 282 mm | Wet |
| December | 25°C / 76°F | 270 mm | Wet |
How we pick the best months
- Best: an average temperature of 15–28°C and low rainfall for Kota Kinabalu: under 150 mm, and no more than 311 mm, a quarter above Kota Kinabalu's median month (never set below 60 mm).
- If no month qualifies, we show the three driest months that average 10–30°C instead.
- Wet: 150 mm of rain or more. Rainy: more than 311 mm. Hot: 29°C or more on average. Cool: under 15°C. Cold: under 5°C.
Averages cover day and night, so afternoons are warmer than the figure shown. Weather is only one reason to pick a month: school holidays, festivals and prices matter too.
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Where these numbers come from
Monthly averages for January 2001 – December 2020 from the NASA POWER project, for the area around Kota Kinabalu International (BKI) at 5.93, 116.05. The model covers a grid about 50 km across, so a coastal or hilly spot can run a degree or two different. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
The data was obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC) Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource (POWER) Project funded through the NASA Earth Science/Applied Science Program.