Climate and average weather in Bintulu
In Bintulu, the weather is oppressive, hot, wet, and mostly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around December.
Over the course of the year, the temperature in Bintulu typically varies from 24°C to 31°C, and is rarely below 23°C or above 33°C. May is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.
Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Bintulu for warm-weather activities is from late December to late October.
- Hottest
- May
- 31°
- Coldest
- Jan
- 24°
- Wettest
- Dec
- 348 mm
- Driest
- Mar
- 165 mm
- Rain / yr
- 2693 mm
- 287 wet days
- Daylight
- 11.8–12.2 h
- shortest–longest
- Elevation
- 8 m
- 3.2°N
- Clearest
- Jun
- 78% cloud
Bintulu is town on the island of Borneo in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia.
- Founded
- 1862
Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.
Bintulu weather by month, at a glance
The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.
Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late December to late October.
Temperature through the year
Daily average highs and lows in Bintulu, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.
Temperatures in Bintulu stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is May, with an average high of 31°C and low of 25°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 24°C and high of 29°C.
Days typically run about 5°C warmer than nights year-round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 |
| Avg low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Avg high (°C) | Avg low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29 | 24 |
| Feb | 29 | 24 |
| Mar | 30 | 25 |
| Apr | 30 | 25 |
| May | 31 | 25 |
| Jun | 31 | 25 |
| Jul | 31 | 25 |
| Aug | 31 | 25 |
| Sep | 30 | 25 |
| Oct | 30 | 24 |
| Nov | 30 | 24 |
| Dec | 29 | 24 |
How hot and cold Bintulu really feels
The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.
On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, Bintulu feels like about 38°C (around May 15). Nearly every day a year carries some heat stress, peaking in May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feels-like high (°C) | 33 | 33 | 35 | 37 | 38 | 37 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Air high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 |
| Feels-like low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Air low (°C) | 24 | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Feels-like high (°C) | Air high (°C) | Feels-like low (°C) | Air low (°C) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 29 | 24 | 24 |
| Feb | 33 | 29 | 24 | 24 |
| Mar | 35 | 30 | 24 | 25 |
| Apr | 37 | 30 | 25 | 25 |
| May | 38 | 31 | 25 | 25 |
| Jun | 37 | 31 | 25 | 25 |
| Jul | 37 | 31 | 25 | 25 |
| Aug | 36 | 31 | 25 | 25 |
| Sep | 36 | 30 | 24 | 25 |
| Oct | 35 | 30 | 24 | 24 |
| Nov | 35 | 30 | 24 | 24 |
| Dec | 35 | 29 | 24 | 24 |
Average hourly temperature in Bintulu
A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on May afternoons, near 31°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 24°C.
Bintulu weather by month
Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29° / 24° | 298 | 26.1 | 11.8 | 3.2 |
| Feb | 29° / 24° | 192 | 21.6 | 11.9 | 3.5 |
| Mar | 30° / 25° | 165 | 22.6 | 12 | 3.4 |
| Apr | 30° / 25° | 188 | 24.2 | 12.1 | 3.0 |
| May | 31° / 25° | 183 | 22.8 | 12.1 | 3.1 |
| Jun | 31° / 25° | 177 | 20.4 | 12.2 | 3.3 |
| Jul | 31° / 25° | 170 | 19.6 | 12.2 | 3.4 |
| Aug | 31° / 25° | 196 | 21.1 | 12.1 | 3.3 |
| Sep | 30° / 25° | 213 | 23.8 | 12 | 3.1 |
| Oct | 30° / 24° | 274 | 27.3 | 11.9 | 2.9 |
| Nov | 30° / 24° | 291 | 28.4 | 11.9 | 2.7 |
| Dec | 29° / 24° | 348 | 28.8 | 11.8 | 2.8 |
Chance of rain
How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.
Bintulu gets about 2693 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.
The wetter season lasts 4.6 months, from around Sep 17 to Feb 4, peaking in November at about 95% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 31.
December is the wettest month by volume, with 348 mm over about 29 wet days; March is the driest, with 165 mm.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rain on a day (%) | 85 | 77 | 74 | 80 | 74 | 67 | 64 | 68 | 79 | 88 | 94 | 92 |
| Rain days | 26 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| Rain on a day (%) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 85 | 26 |
| Feb | 77 | 22 |
| Mar | 74 | 23 |
| Apr | 80 | 24 |
| May | 74 | 23 |
| Jun | 67 | 20 |
| Jul | 64 | 20 |
| Aug | 68 | 21 |
| Sep | 79 | 24 |
| Oct | 88 | 27 |
| Nov | 94 | 28 |
| Dec | 92 | 29 |
Monthly rainfall
Over a full year, Bintulu collects about 2693 mm of rain across 287 wet days — roughly 224 mm in an average month.
It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 348 mm, while March is the driest at just 165 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 35% of the year’s total.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainfall (mm) | 298 | 192 | 165 | 188 | 183 | 177 | 170 | 196 | 213 | 274 | 291 | 348 |
| Rain days | 26 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| Rainfall (mm) | Rain days | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 298 | 26 |
| Feb | 192 | 22 |
| Mar | 165 | 23 |
| Apr | 188 | 24 |
| May | 183 | 23 |
| Jun | 177 | 20 |
| Jul | 170 | 20 |
| Aug | 196 | 21 |
| Sep | 213 | 24 |
| Oct | 274 | 27 |
| Nov | 291 | 28 |
| Dec | 348 | 29 |
Clouds and sunshine
How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.
In Bintulu, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.
The clearer part of the year begins around March 9 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around September 8. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 21% of the time on average.
The cloudier part of the year begins around September 9 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around March 8. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 96% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearer (%) | 5 | 7 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Cloudier (%) | 95 | 93 | 88 | 85 | 83 | 80 | 79 | 84 | 89 | 94 | 96 | 96 |
| Clearer (%) | Cloudier (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | 95 |
| Feb | 7 | 93 |
| Mar | 12 | 88 |
| Apr | 15 | 85 |
| May | 17 | 83 |
| Jun | 20 | 80 |
| Jul | 21 | 79 |
| Aug | 16 | 84 |
| Sep | 11 | 89 |
| Oct | 6 | 94 |
| Nov | 4 | 96 |
| Dec | 4 | 96 |
Daylight, sunrise and sunset
Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.
The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. Close to the equator, Bintulu barely changes through the year: days stay near 12 h 12 min of light in every season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 11.8 | 11.9 | 12.0 | 12.1 | 12.1 | 12.2 | 12.2 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 11.9 | 11.9 | 11.8 |
| Sunrise (AM) | 6:42 | 6:46 | 6:38 | 6:26 | 6:20 | 6:23 | 6:28 | 6:29 | 6:22 | 6:15 | 6:18 | 6:29 |
| Sunset (PM) | 6:32 | 6:39 | 6:37 | 6:30 | 6:28 | 6:34 | 6:38 | 6:35 | 6:23 | 6:11 | 6:09 | 6:19 |
| Daylight (h) | Sunrise (AM) | Sunset (PM) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11.8 | 6:42 | 6:32 |
| Feb | 11.9 | 6:46 | 6:39 |
| Mar | 12.0 | 6:38 | 6:37 |
| Apr | 12.1 | 6:26 | 6:30 |
| May | 12.1 | 6:20 | 6:28 |
| Jun | 12.2 | 6:23 | 6:34 |
| Jul | 12.2 | 6:28 | 6:38 |
| Aug | 12.1 | 6:29 | 6:35 |
| Sep | 12.0 | 6:22 | 6:23 |
| Oct | 11.9 | 6:15 | 6:11 |
| Nov | 11.9 | 6:18 | 6:09 |
| Dec | 11.8 | 6:29 | 6:19 |
Sunny days
How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.
Bintulu gets about 1 sunny days a month — gloomy — and it barely shifts through the year, holding between 0 and 2 days every month. Clear skies here are a flat line, not a season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny days | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sky | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy | Gloomy |
| Sunny days | Sky | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | Gloomy |
| Feb | 0 | Gloomy |
| Mar | 1 | Gloomy |
| Apr | 1 | Gloomy |
| May | 2 | Gloomy |
| Jun | 2 | Gloomy |
| Jul | 2 | Gloomy |
| Aug | 1 | Gloomy |
| Sep | 1 | Gloomy |
| Oct | 0 | Gloomy |
| Nov | 0 | Gloomy |
| Dec | 0 | Gloomy |
Humidity comfort
Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.
Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.
Bintulu is humid all year round — on a typical day the air feels at least humid, and there is no real dry season to wait for.
The stickiest month is January, when it feels muggy, oppressive or miserable about 100% of the time. Even in January, the mildest month, the air is dry or comfortable only 0% of the time.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oppressive (%) | 60 | 62 | 47 | 20 | 13 | 32 | 47 | 49 | 50 | 50 | 46 | 50 |
| Miserable (%) | 39 | 38 | 53 | 80 | 87 | 68 | 53 | 51 | 50 | 50 | 54 | 50 |
| Oppressive (%) | Miserable (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 60 | 39 |
| Feb | 62 | 38 |
| Mar | 47 | 53 |
| Apr | 20 | 80 |
| May | 13 | 87 |
| Jun | 32 | 68 |
| Jul | 47 | 53 |
| Aug | 49 | 51 |
| Sep | 50 | 50 |
| Oct | 50 | 50 |
| Nov | 46 | 54 |
| Dec | 50 | 50 |
Wind
Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.
This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.
Wind in Bintulu is steady company: average speeds sit near 7 km/h — calm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind speed (km/h) | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 |
| Feels | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
| Wind speed (km/h) | Feels | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | calm |
| Feb | 9 | calm |
| Mar | 8 | calm |
| Apr | 7 | calm |
| May | 6 | calm |
| Jun | 7 | calm |
| Jul | 7 | calm |
| Aug | 7 | calm |
| Sep | 7 | calm |
| Oct | 7 | calm |
| Nov | 7 | calm |
| Dec | 8 | calm |
Hazard calendar for Bintulu
When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.
Bintulu sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.
Best time to visit Bintulu
To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Bintulu throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.
Around mid October, Bintulu is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.
Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.
The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. In Bintulu it holds close to 3.5 all year, so any month is about as good as another for general outdoor tourist activities.
The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel score (0–10) | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 2.8 |
| Rating | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor | poor |
| Travel score (0–10) | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3.2 | poor |
| Feb | 3.5 | poor |
| Mar | 3.4 | poor |
| Apr | 3.0 | poor |
| May | 3.1 | poor |
| Jun | 3.3 | poor |
| Jul | 3.4 | poor |
| Aug | 3.3 | poor |
| Sep | 3.1 | poor |
| Oct | 2.9 | poor |
| Nov | 2.7 | poor |
| Dec | 2.8 | poor |
The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Bintulu for hot-weather activities is from mid January to early October, with a peak score in the last week of July.
The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).
What to pack for Bintulu, by month
Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.
Bintulu packs about the same all year — highs hold near 31°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection.
In May, Bintulu sees daytime highs around 31°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 23 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Bintulu
Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 18 km away) is warmest in May at about 30°C and coldest in February near 28°C.
The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 28 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| Comfort | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28 | Tropical |
| Feb | 28 | Tropical |
| Mar | 29 | Tropical |
| Apr | 30 | Tropical |
| May | 30 | Tropical |
| Jun | 30 | Tropical |
| Jul | 30 | Tropical |
| Aug | 30 | Tropical |
| Sep | 30 | Tropical |
| Oct | 30 | Tropical |
| Nov | 29 | Tropical |
| Dec | 29 | Tropical |
UV index (midday) in Bintulu by month
Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Bintulu peaks around March 24 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near November 21 at about 11 (extreme).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 12 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13 | Extreme |
| Feb | 15 | Extreme |
| Mar | 15 | Extreme |
| Apr | 15 | Extreme |
| May | 14 | Extreme |
| Jun | 12 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 13 | Extreme |
| Sep | 13 | Extreme |
| Oct | 14 | Extreme |
| Nov | 11 | Extreme |
| Dec | 12 | Extreme |
Average hourly UV index in Bintulu
Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.
The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.
UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in March the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8.5 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | 6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6 | 5.5 | 6 | 6 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 |
| UV ≥ 3 (h/day) | UV ≥ 6 (h/day) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | 6 |
| Feb | 8 | 6.5 |
| Mar | 8 | 6.5 |
| Apr | 8.5 | 6.5 |
| May | 8 | 6.5 |
| Jun | 8 | 6 |
| Jul | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 8 | 6 |
| Sep | 8 | 6 |
| Oct | 8 | 6.5 |
| Nov | 7.5 | 5.5 |
| Dec | 7.5 | 5.5 |
Air quality in Bintulu by month
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.
Air quality in Bintulu is worst in September — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.1× the cleanest month (December, 9 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 9 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 15 | 19 | 13 | 9 | 9 |
| Level | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 9 | Good |
| Feb | 13 | Moderate |
| Mar | 12 | Moderate |
| Apr | 12 | Moderate |
| May | 11 | Good |
| Jun | 12 | Good |
| Jul | 13 | Moderate |
| Aug | 15 | Moderate |
| Sep | 19 | Moderate |
| Oct | 13 | Moderate |
| Nov | 9 | Good |
| Dec | 9 | Good |
Growing season
Bintulu is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frost-free chance (%) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Frost nights | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frost-free chance (%) | Frost nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 100 | 0 |
| Feb | 100 | 0 |
| Mar | 100 | 0 |
| Apr | 100 | 0 |
| May | 100 | 0 |
| Jun | 100 | 0 |
| Jul | 100 | 0 |
| Aug | 100 | 0 |
| Sep | 100 | 0 |
| Oct | 100 | 0 |
| Nov | 100 | 0 |
| Dec | 100 | 0 |
Growing degree days
Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Bintulu banks about 6,316 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | 514 | 466 | 530 | 528 | 557 | 536 | 551 | 549 | 522 | 531 | 510 | 523 |
| Growing degree days (°C·days) | |
|---|---|
| Jan | 514 |
| Feb | 466 |
| Mar | 530 |
| Apr | 528 |
| May | 557 |
| Jun | 536 |
| Jul | 551 |
| Aug | 549 |
| Sep | 522 |
| Oct | 531 |
| Nov | 510 |
| Dec | 523 |
Solar energy
Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.
Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.
Bintulu receives about 4.9 kWh/m² a day of solar energy — bright — and it stays remarkably steady, holding between 4.2 and 5.3 kWh/m² all year. For solar panels, output here is a flat line, not a seasonal wave.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | 4.4 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 |
| Level | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright | Bright |
| Solar energy (kWh/m²) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4.4 | Bright |
| Feb | 4.8 | Bright |
| Mar | 5.3 | Bright |
| Apr | 5.2 | Bright |
| May | 5.1 | Bright |
| Jun | 4.9 | Bright |
| Jul | 5.1 | Bright |
| Aug | 5.2 | Bright |
| Sep | 5.2 | Bright |
| Oct | 4.8 | Bright |
| Nov | 4.5 | Bright |
| Dec | 4.2 | Bright |
Where is Bintulu?
Bintulu sits at 3.2°N, 113.0°E, 8 m above sea level, in Malaysia. The nearest listed city is Sebauh, 27 km away.
Topography around Bintulu
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Bintulu.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Bintulu has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 65 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 182 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,062 m.
The land around Bintulu is covered by trees (40%) and water (26%) within 3 km, trees (54%) and water (38%) within 16 km, and trees (70%) and water (29%) within 80 km.
Malaysia travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / G / M
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 32% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $13,125
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.0 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 95%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 0.7
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 22.5
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- High
- EF EPI 581
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Bintulu (3.1667°, 113.0333°, elevation 8 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).