The climate in Indonesia
Average daytime and nighttime temperaturesAll climate diagrams on this page come from the collected data of 133 weather stations.
Weather stations at an altitude above 850m have not been included.
All data correspond to the average monthly values of the last 20 years.
Back to overview: Indonesia
Climate zone: tropics
High humidity and hot temperatures make the weather in Indonesia pleasant at times but also tropical humid. It is warm to hot all year round, inviting bathing at average water temperatures of 28 degrees. The warmest and at the same time rainiest island group is Java. The coldest is Moluccas. Due to less rain, the best time for traveling is from August to September. Most precipitation falls from December to January.
High humidity and hot temperatures make the weather in Indonesia pleasant at times but also tropical humid. It is warm to hot all year round, inviting bathing at average water temperatures of 28 degrees. The warmest and at the same time rainiest island group is Java. The coldest is Moluccas. Due to less rain, the best time for traveling is from August to September. Most precipitation falls from December to January.
Hours of sunshine per day

Rain days per month

Precipitation in mm/day

Water temperature

Relative humidity in %

Absolute humidity in g/m³

Archipelagos in Indonesia
All figures per year. For detailed climate data click on the name of the region.Archipelago | Temperature max Ø day | Temperature min Ø night | Sunshine hours | Rainy days | Precipitation | Humidity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Borneo | 32.1 °C | 23.8 °C | 1,752 h | 188 | 3,208 l | 85.0 % |
Java | 32.1 °C | 24.5 °C | 2,154 h | 130 | 2,139 l | 82.0 % |
Lesser Sunda Islands | 31.9 °C | 23.7 °C | 2,628 h | 95 | 1,369 l | 80.0 % |
Moluccas | 30.8 °C | 23.8 °C | 1,898 h | 173 | 2,770 l | 83.0 % |
Riau Islands | 31.1 °C | 24.5 °C | 1,862 h | 149 | 2,559 l | |
Sulawesi | 31.9 °C | 23.7 °C | 2,154 h | 155 | 2,438 l | 83.0 % |
Sumatra | 31.6 °C | 23.6 °C | 1,752 h | 152 | 2,617 l | 83.0 % |
West Papua | 31.2 °C | 24.1 °C | 1,789 h | 190 | 3,004 l | 85.0 % |
Temperature records of the last 74 years
The hottest temperature measured from 1949 to January 2023 was reported by the Maumere weather station. In September 2001, the record temperature of 43.1 °C was reported here. The hottest summer from July to September, based on all 127 weather stations in Indonesia below 850 meters altitude, was recorded in 2016 with an average temperature of 27.4 °C. This average temperature will normally be measured every four to six hours, thus also including the nights. Normally, this value is 26.9 degrees Celsius. The average maximum daily temperature at that time was 31.9 °C.The coldest day in these 74 years was reported by the Fak Fak weather station. Here the temperature dropped to zero °C in June 2009. Fak Fak lies at an altitude of 130 meters above sea level. The coldest winter (January to March) was in 1963 with an average temperature of 25.7 °C. In Indonesia, it is usual to have about 1.3 degrees more at 27.1 °C for this three-month period.
The most precipitation fell in February 1953. With 78.6 mm per day, the Makassar Airport weather station recorded the highest monthly average of the last 74 years. Incidentally, the region with the most rainfall for the whole year is around Tanah Merah. The driest region is near Palu Airport.
Long-term development of temperatures from 2000 - 2022
In contrast to single record values, long-term development cannot simply be brought about by all weather stations in the country. Both the number and the locations are constantly changing. An average value would give a distorted result. If several measuring stations in particularly cold mountain or coastal regions are added in one year, the average would decrease as a result of this alone. If a station fails during the summer or winter months, it does not provide any values and distorts the average again. The subsequent long-term development was therefore reduced to only 4 measuring points in order to have comparable data over as long a period as possible.In the years 2000 to 2022, there were only these 4 weather stations in the whole country, which reported continuous temperature values (Medan, Sibolga, Denpasar, Rengat). From these weather reports, we have created a long-term development that shows the monthly average temperatures. The hottest month in this entire period was April 2016 at 28.5 °C. September 2006 was the coldest month with an average temperature of 26.1 °C.
The average annual temperature was about 26.9 °C in the years after 2000 and about 27.2 °C in the last years before 2022. So over the past 23 years, it has only increased by a minimal 0.3 °C. This trend only applies to the selected 4 weather stations in Indonesia. A considerably more comprehensive evaluation of global warming has been provided separately.
