Malaysia is a tropical country located north of the Equator within latitudes 1° to 7° North and longitudes l00° to 119° East. The total land area is approximately 32.9 million hectares with l3.2 million hectares in Peninsular Malaysia, which comprises eleven states and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, 7.4 million hectares in Sabah and the Federal Territory of Labuan, and l2.3 million hectares in Sarawak. Peninsular Malaysia is separated from Sabah and Sarawak by 720 km of the South China Sea, giving the country a coastline of almost 4,830 km.
The climate of Malaysia is typically humid tropical or wet equatorial and is characterized by year round high temperatures and seasonal heavy rain, especially during the North-East Monsoon from October/November to February/March. The mean temperatures during the day and night are 32° C and 22° C respectively. The average monthly temperature variation is about 2° C while diurnal temperature variation for inland and coastal areas are 8.5° C to 11° C and 5.5° C to 8.5° C respectively. The average annual rainfall is about 2,540 mm with a maximum of 5,080 mm and a minimum of 1,650 mm. Humidity is always high and ranges from 70% to 98% and the sky is cloudy most of the day, especially during the monsoon months.
