Kota Kinabalu Sea Temperature

Looking to find out what the sea water temperature in Kota Kinabalu is for today and the next few days? Below are data and charts that will give you information about sea temperatures in Kota Kinabalu and nearby locations.

Water temperature in Kota Kinabalu right now

Below is the current sea temperature for Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on 19th April 2024.

30.54° C

(86.98° F)

  • yesterday: 30.28° C (86.51° F)
  • a week ago: 29.69° C (85.44° F)

Water at this temperature is very warm and you should look to bathe only. Avoid any kind of strenuous swimming as there is a real risk of heat stroke at this temperature.

The average sea temperature for Kota Kinabalu on April 19th over the last 10 years is 29.66° C (85.39° F), with a low temperature of 28.4° C (83.12° F) and a high of 30.55° C (86.99° F).

Analysis and forecast for Kota Kinabalu water temperatures

The water temperature in Kota Kinabalu today is higher than the average temperature of 29.66° C (85.39° F) and the temperature on this day last year, 19th April 2023, was 30.55° C (86.99° F).

The chart and table below shows the change in water temperature in Kota Kinabalu over the last 30 days:

Date Temperature (Celsius) Temperature (Fahrenheit)
April 19 30.54° C 86.98° F
April 18 30.28° C 86.51° F
April 17 30.41° C 86.74° F
April 16 30.36° C 86.65° F
April 15 30.15° C 86.27° F
April 14 29.97° C 85.95° F
April 13 29.85° C 85.73° F
April 12 29.69° C 85.44° F
April 11 29.55° C 85.19° F
April 10 29.84° C 85.71° F
April 9 29.9° C 85.82° F
April 8 29.66° C 85.39° F
April 7 29.62° C 85.32° F
April 6 29.83° C 85.69° F
April 5 29.31° C 84.76° F
April 4 29.5° C 85.1° F
April 3 29.36° C 84.85° F
April 2 29.21° C 84.58° F
April 1 29.04° C 84.27° F
March 31 28.86° C 83.95° F
March 30 28.54° C 83.37° F
March 29 28.19° C 82.74° F
March 28 27.94° C 82.29° F
March 27 27.62° C 81.72° F
March 26 27.69° C 81.84° F
March 25 27.63° C 81.73° F
March 24 27.52° C 81.54° F
March 23 27.41° C 81.34° F
March 22 27.15° C 80.87° F
March 21 26.93° C 80.47° F
March 20 26.9° C 80.42° F

The actual nearshore temperatures may vary by several degrees and this can also be heavily affected by weather. Strong winds can cause cold, deep waters to replace the surface waters that had been warmed by the sun, and heavy rain can also reduce the temperature of the sea surface temperature as well.

Water temperature in Kota Kinabalu by month

The chart below shows the monthly average water temperature in Kota Kinabalu.

For more detailed information on how the sea temperature in Kota Kinabalu changes for each month of the year, choose from the months below.

Kota Kinabalu map and nearby water temperatures

Locations near Kota Kinabalu

The highest temperature in Malaysia today is 30.65° C (87.18° F) in Kuah. The lowest is in Klebang Besar, where the temperature of the water is 29.13° C (84.44° F).

Why measure sea surface temperatures (SST) in Kota Kinabalu?

The ocean covers about 71% of the Earth's surface, and scientists record the sea surface temperature (SST) of locations such as Kota Kinabalu because they want to understand and learn how the ocean communicates with the atomosphere of Earth.

SST is one measure that provides information on the global climate, and it can be used to predict the weather in Kota Kinabalu as well as atmospheric model simulations and to study marine ecosystems in the area.

Data source and citation

Raw data for the calculations made to find the sea surface temperature in Kota Kinabalu comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their 1/4° daily Optimum Interpolation Sea Surface Temperature.

The water temperature data is constructed by combining observations from different platforms (satellites, ships, buoys, and Argo floats) on a regular global grid. A spatially complete sea surface temperature map is then built by interpolating to fill in gaps in the data.

If you'd like to use any of the information above in the format it is presented, please use the citation tool below.

  • "Kota Kinabalu Sea Temperature". SeaTemperatures.net. Accessed on April 19, 2024. http://seatemperatures.net/asia/malaysia/kota-kinabalu/.

  • "Kota Kinabalu Sea Temperature". SeaTemperatures.net, http://seatemperatures.net/asia/malaysia/kota-kinabalu/. Accessed 19 April, 2024

  • Kota Kinabalu Sea Temperature. SeaTemperatures.net. Retrieved from http://seatemperatures.net/asia/malaysia/kota-kinabalu/.