Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra, sits inland on the Musi River in southeastern Sumatra, on a low, swampy plain about 100 km from the sea at approximately -2.99°S, 104.76°E. It has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen Am) — hot and humid year-round — with a clear wet season from November to March and a drier season from April to October.

There is no summer in the temperate sense: temperatures stay warm and steady, with daytime highs around 32–33°C and warm, humid nights. The wet season, from November to March, brings heavy afternoon and evening downpours and thunderstorms, high humidity and abundant cloud; the flat, swampy terrain around the Musi drains slowly, so flooding is a recurring problem.

There is no true winter, but the drier season from April to October brings less rain, more sunshine and slightly lower humidity, with warm days throughout. This drier stretch is the best time to visit, though in dry years the season also brings haze from peatland and forest fires burning across Sumatra, which can blanket the city for weeks.

Palembang receives on the order of 2,300–2,600 mm of rain a year, concentrated in the wet season from November to March, while April to October is markedly drier — a clearer seasonal split than in northern Sumatra. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Palembang's low-lying, swampy setting on the Musi River makes it prone to flooding during the wet season, while its dry season carries a very different hazard: smoke haze from peatland and forest fires burning across South Sumatra, which in bad years — often El Niño years — can shroud the city in choking smog for weeks and disrupt flights across the region.

To follow any single measurement in Palembang more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.