Sandakan weather in May

In May, Sandakan sees average daytime highs of 33°C and overnight lows near 24°C, with 237 mm of rain across 26.9 wet days and about 12.3 hours of daylight. It is the 1st-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 33°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in May, and the air most often feels miserable.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 12 min at the start of May to 12 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Sandakan's 3rd-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Sandakan's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 33°; 1st warmest
Overnight low: 24°; 12th coldest
Rainfall: 237 mm; 26.9 wet days
Daylight: 12 h 18 min; 5:56 AM – 6:12 PM
Cloud cover: 78%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 5 km/h; 9th windiest
Solar energy: 5.56 kWh/m²
Travel score: 2.1; out of 10

Sandakan is city in Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia.

Founded: 1658

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← April Sandakan year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 33°C through the month.

A typical May day in Sandakan reaches about 33°C in the afternoon and slips back to 24°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 31°C and 35°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs on par with April and on par with June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33	33
Avg low (°C)	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24	24

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	33	24
2	33	24
3	33	24
4	33	24
5	33	24
6	33	24
7	33	24
8	33	24
9	33	24
10	33	24
11	33	24
12	33	24
13	33	24
14	33	24
15	33	24
16	33	24
17	33	24
18	33	24
19	33	24
20	33	24
21	33	24
22	33	24
23	33	24
24	33	24
25	33	24
26	33	24
27	33	24
28	33	24
29	33	24
30	33	24
31	33	24

How May really feels in Sandakan

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 31 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

31 feel dangerously hot (≥ 39°C)

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

The story in May is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Sandakan weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 1st-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	30° / 23°	287	27.8	11.7	2.8
Feb	30° / 23°	215	23.5	11.8	2.9
Mar	32° / 24°	197	23.5	12	2.8
Apr	33° / 24°	169	21.9	12.1	2.5
May	33° / 24°	237	26.9	12.3	2.1
Jun	33° / 24°	244	26.3	12.3	2.2
Jul	32° / 24°	222	26	12.3	2.3
Aug	33° / 24°	225	26.6	12.2	2.2
Sep	33° / 24°	244	26.8	12	2.1
Oct	32° / 24°	282	29	11.9	2.1
Nov	32° / 24°	278	28.5	11.7	2.2
Dec	31° / 24°	289	29.5	11.7	2.4

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 80%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	27	25	25	24	23	23	22	21	20	19	19	19	19	19	19	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	20	19	18	18	18	18	16
Cloudier (%)	73	75	75	76	77	77	78	79	80	81	81	81	81	81	81	80	80	80	80	80	80	80	80	80	80	81	82	82	82	82	84

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	27	73
2	25	75
3	25	75
4	24	76
5	23	77
6	23	77
7	22	78
8	21	79
9	20	80
10	19	81
11	19	81
12	19	81
13	19	81
14	19	81
15	19	81
16	20	80
17	20	80
18	20	80
19	20	80
20	20	80
21	20	80
22	20	80
23	20	80
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	18	82
28	18	82
29	18	82
30	18	82
31	16	84

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Sandakan gets around 237 mm of rain over 26.9 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 87% and peaks near 89% on the wettest days. The odds climb toward the end of the month.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	80	81	82	82	83	84	85	85	86	87	87	88	88	88	89	89	89	89	89	89	89	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88	88

	Rain chance (%)
1	80
2	81
3	82
4	82
5	83
6	84
7	85
8	85
9	86
10	87
11	87
12	88
13	88
14	88
15	89
16	89
17	89
18	89
19	89
20	89
21	89
22	88
23	88
24	88
25	88
26	88
27	88
28	88
29	88
30	88
31	88

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of May feels miserable — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, May lands in the miserable band about 96% of days. Sticky, muggy-or-worse air turns up on roughly 100% of them.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Oppressive (%)	9	8	7	7	6	5	5	4	4	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	5
Miserable (%)	91	92	93	93	94	95	95	96	96	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	97	97	97	97	96	96	96	95

	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	9	91
2	8	92
3	7	93
4	7	93
5	6	94
6	5	95
7	5	95
8	4	96
9	4	96
10	3	97
11	3	97
12	3	97
13	2	98
14	2	98
15	2	98
16	2	98
17	2	98
18	2	98
19	2	98
20	2	98
21	2	98
22	2	98
23	2	98
24	3	97
25	3	97
26	3	97
27	3	97
28	4	96
29	4	96
30	4	96
31	5	95

Wind in May

Winds average 5 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 5 km/h on the calmest days to 5 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	5	calm
2	5	calm
3	5	calm
4	5	calm
5	5	calm
6	5	calm
7	5	calm
8	5	calm
9	5	calm
10	5	calm
11	5	calm
12	5	calm
13	5	calm
14	5	calm
15	5	calm
16	5	calm
17	5	calm
18	5	calm
19	5	calm
20	5	calm
21	5	calm
22	5	calm
23	5	calm
24	5	calm
25	5	calm
26	5	calm
27	5	calm
28	5	calm
29	5	calm
30	5	calm
31	5	calm

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 12 min at the start of May to 12 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 6 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 5:59 AM to 5:56 AM, and sunset from 6:11 PM to 6:14 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.2	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3	12.3
Sunrise (AM)	5:59	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:58	5:57	5:57	5:57	5:57	5:57	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:56	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:55	5:56	5:56
Sunset (PM)	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:11	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:12	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:13	6:14	6:14	6:14	6:14

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.2	5:59	6:11
2	12.2	5:58	6:11
3	12.2	5:58	6:11
4	12.2	5:58	6:11
5	12.2	5:58	6:11
6	12.2	5:57	6:11
7	12.2	5:57	6:11
8	12.2	5:57	6:11
9	12.2	5:57	6:11
10	12.2	5:57	6:11
11	12.2	5:56	6:11
12	12.2	5:56	6:11
13	12.3	5:56	6:11
14	12.3	5:56	6:11
15	12.3	5:56	6:12
16	12.3	5:56	6:12
17	12.3	5:56	6:12
18	12.3	5:56	6:12
19	12.3	5:56	6:12
20	12.3	5:56	6:12
21	12.3	5:55	6:12
22	12.3	5:55	6:13
23	12.3	5:55	6:13
24	12.3	5:55	6:13
25	12.3	5:55	6:13
26	12.3	5:55	6:13
27	12.3	5:55	6:13
28	12.3	5:55	6:14
29	12.3	5:55	6:14
30	12.3	5:56	6:14
31	12.3	5:56	6:14

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 5.56 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 4.37 kWh/m² to a high of 5.86 kWh/m² in April across the year — May's 5.56 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5	5.5
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	5.7	Bright
2	5.7	Bright
3	5.7	Bright
4	5.6	Bright
5	5.6	Bright
6	5.6	Bright
7	5.6	Bright
8	5.6	Bright
9	5.6	Bright
10	5.6	Bright
11	5.5	Bright
12	5.5	Bright
13	5.5	Bright
14	5.5	Bright
15	5.5	Bright
16	5.5	Bright
17	5.5	Bright
18	5.5	Bright
19	5.5	Bright
20	5.5	Bright
21	5.6	Bright
22	5.6	Bright
23	5.5	Bright
24	5.5	Bright
25	5.5	Bright
26	5.5	Bright
27	5.5	Bright
28	5.5	Bright
29	5.5	Bright
30	5.5	Bright
31	5.5	Bright

Planning a trip in May

Hazard calendar for Sandakan

In seasonPeak

In May, Sandakan sits inside its pacific typhoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Sandakan sits in the Pacific typhoon belt; the season peaks July–October.

Pacific typhoon

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is May a good time to visit Sandakan?

Our two travel scores rate May for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

2.1

Sightseeing

10th-best month of the year

3.7

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Sandakan.

What to pack for Sandakan in May

From May's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In May, Sandakan sees daytime highs around 33°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 27 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Sandakan in May

The nearest coast averages about 30°C in May — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in May at about 30°C and coldest in January 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 in Sandakan in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 13 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Sandakan peaks around March 20 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 13 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)	12	14	14	14	13	12	12	14	13	12	11	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	12	Extreme
Feb	14	Extreme
Mar	14	Extreme
Apr	14	Extreme
May	13	Extreme
Jun	12	Extreme
Jul	12	Extreme
Aug	14	Extreme
Sep	13	Extreme
Oct	12	Extreme
Nov	11	Extreme
Dec	11	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Sandakan?

Sandakan sits at 5.8°N, 118.1°E, 10 m above sea level, in Malaysia. The nearest listed city is Lahad Datu, 94 km away.

Topography around Sandakan

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Sandakan.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sandakan has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 239 m around an average of 22 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 244 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 533 m.

The land around Sandakan is covered by water (59%) and trees (26%) within 3 km, water (56%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and water (46%) and trees (45%) within 80 km.

3 km

239 m

water 59%

16 km

244 m

water 56%

80 km

533 m

water 46%

treesgrasslandartificial surfaceswatermangroves

← April Sandakan year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May weather nearby: Lahad Datu 94 km · Mapun 134 km · Semporna 161 km · Ranau 161 km · Tawau 179 km · Kudat 184 km · Tambunan 191 km · Sitangkai 193 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 Sandakan (5.8402°, 118.1179°, elevation 10 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	33	24
2	33	24
3	33	24
4	33	24
5	33	24
6	33	24
7	33	24
8	33	24
9	33	24
10	33	24
11	33	24
12	33	24
13	33	24
14	33	24
15	33	24
16	33	24
17	33	24
18	33	24
19	33	24
20	33	24
21	33	24
22	33	24
23	33	24
24	33	24
25	33	24
26	33	24
27	33	24
28	33	24
29	33	24
30	33	24
31	33	24

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	27	73
2	25	75
3	25	75
4	24	76
5	23	77
6	23	77
7	22	78
8	21	79
9	20	80
10	19	81
11	19	81
12	19	81
13	19	81
14	19	81
15	19	81
16	20	80
17	20	80
18	20	80
19	20	80
20	20	80
21	20	80
22	20	80
23	20	80
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	18	82
28	18	82
29	18	82
30	18	82
31	16	84

	Rain chance (%)
1	80
2	81
3	82
4	82
5	83
6	84
7	85
8	85
9	86
10	87
11	87
12	88
13	88
14	88
15	89
16	89
17	89
18	89
19	89
20	89
21	89
22	88
23	88
24	88
25	88
26	88
27	88
28	88
29	88
30	88
31	88

	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	9	91
2	8	92
3	7	93
4	7	93
5	6	94
6	5	95
7	5	95
8	4	96
9	4	96
10	3	97
11	3	97
12	3	97
13	2	98
14	2	98
15	2	98
16	2	98
17	2	98
18	2	98
19	2	98
20	2	98
21	2	98
22	2	98
23	2	98
24	3	97
25	3	97
26	3	97
27	3	97
28	4	96
29	4	96
30	4	96
31	5	95

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	33	24
2	33	24
3	33	24
4	33	24
5	33	24
6	33	24
7	33	24
8	33	24
9	33	24
10	33	24
11	33	24
12	33	24
13	33	24
14	33	24
15	33	24
16	33	24
17	33	24
18	33	24
19	33	24
20	33	24
21	33	24
22	33	24
23	33	24
24	33	24
25	33	24
26	33	24
27	33	24
28	33	24
29	33	24
30	33	24
31	33	24

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	27	73
2	25	75
3	25	75
4	24	76
5	23	77
6	23	77
7	22	78
8	21	79
9	20	80
10	19	81
11	19	81
12	19	81
13	19	81
14	19	81
15	19	81
16	20	80
17	20	80
18	20	80
19	20	80
20	20	80
21	20	80
22	20	80
23	20	80
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	18	82
28	18	82
29	18	82
30	18	82
31	16	84

	Rain chance (%)
1	80
2	81
3	82
4	82
5	83
6	84
7	85
8	85
9	86
10	87
11	87
12	88
13	88
14	88
15	89
16	89
17	89
18	89
19	89
20	89
21	89
22	88
23	88
24	88
25	88
26	88
27	88
28	88
29	88
30	88
31	88

	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	9	91
2	8	92
3	7	93
4	7	93
5	6	94
6	5	95
7	5	95
8	4	96
9	4	96
10	3	97
11	3	97
12	3	97
13	2	98
14	2	98
15	2	98
16	2	98
17	2	98
18	2	98
19	2	98
20	2	98
21	2	98
22	2	98
23	2	98
24	3	97
25	3	97
26	3	97
27	3	97
28	4	96
29	4	96
30	4	96
31	5	95

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	33	24
2	33	24
3	33	24
4	33	24
5	33	24
6	33	24
7	33	24
8	33	24
9	33	24
10	33	24
11	33	24
12	33	24
13	33	24
14	33	24
15	33	24
16	33	24
17	33	24
18	33	24
19	33	24
20	33	24
21	33	24
22	33	24
23	33	24
24	33	24
25	33	24
26	33	24
27	33	24
28	33	24
29	33	24
30	33	24
31	33	24

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	27	73
2	25	75
3	25	75
4	24	76
5	23	77
6	23	77
7	22	78
8	21	79
9	20	80
10	19	81
11	19	81
12	19	81
13	19	81
14	19	81
15	19	81
16	20	80
17	20	80
18	20	80
19	20	80
20	20	80
21	20	80
22	20	80
23	20	80
24	20	80
25	20	80
26	19	81
27	18	82
28	18	82
29	18	82
30	18	82
31	16	84

	Rain chance (%)
1	80
2	81
3	82
4	82
5	83
6	84
7	85
8	85
9	86
10	87
11	87
12	88
13	88
14	88
15	89
16	89
17	89
18	89
19	89
20	89
21	89
22	88
23	88
24	88
25	88
26	88
27	88
28	88
29	88
30	88
31	88

	Oppressive (%)	Miserable (%)
1	9	91
2	8	92
3	7	93
4	7	93
5	6	94
6	5	95
7	5	95
8	4	96
9	4	96
10	3	97
11	3	97
12	3	97
13	2	98
14	2	98
15	2	98
16	2	98
17	2	98
18	2	98
19	2	98
20	2	98
21	2	98
22	2	98
23	2	98
24	3	97
25	3	97
26	3	97
27	3	97
28	4	96
29	4	96
30	4	96
31	5	95