The total annual rainfall is 122 ins. (3,581 mm.) for Kilung, and 65·25 ins. (1,658 mm.) for Takao Anping.
Further north, the monsoon bursts somewhat later, very much in the same way as it does in India; but here, again, the climate is much cooler than would be met with west of the Malay Peninsula in the same latitudes.
| Zi-ka-Wei. Lat. 31° 12′ N.; Time 8 Hrs. 5 Mins. 43 Secs. East ofGreenwich. Elevation of Observatory, 22 Feet above the Sea. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Mean Monthly Temperature | Maximum Temperatures | Minimum Temperatures | Relative Humidity | Rainfall | Number of Rainy Days | ||||
| F. | C. | F. | C. | F. | C. | Ins. | Mm. | |||
| January | 37·0 | 2·8 | 60·0 | 15·6 | 20·0 | -6·7 | 78 | 2·03 | 51·8 | 10 |
| February | 39·4 | 4·0 | 61·9 | 16·6 | 23·8 | -4·9 | 79 | 2·44 | 62·0 | 11 |
| March | 46·0 | 7·8 | 74·1 | 23·4 | 29·0 | -1·7 | 77 | 3·29 | 83·6 | 13 |
| April | 56·5 | 13·6 | 84·0 | 28·9 | 36·9 | 2·7 | 77 | 3·49 | 88·8 | 13 |
| May | 65·5 | 18·6 | 88·5 | 31·4 | 46·4 | 8·0 | 76 | 3·64 | 92·0 | 13 |
| June | 73·4 | 23·0 | 95·0 | 34·9 | 57·3 | 14·1 | 79 | 6·78 | 172·0 | 14 |
| July | 80·6 | 27·0 | 98·5 | 36·9 | 67·5 | 19·7 | 80 | 4·74 | 120·1 | 11 |
| August | 80·1 | 26·8 | 97·4 | 36·3 | 67·0 | 19·4 | 80 | 6·08 | 154·6 | 11 |
| September | 72·8 | 22·7 | 92·0 | 33·3 | 56·6 | 13·7 | 79 | 4·89 | 124·3 | 12 |
| October | 63·2 | 17·3 | 83·5 | 28·6 | 41·4 | 5·2 | 76 | 3·23 | 82·0 | 10 |
| November | 52·0 | 11·1 | 73·4 | 23·0 | 29·9 | -1·2 | 76 | 1·94 | 49·2 | 8 |
| December | 41·7 | 5·5 | 65·0 | 18·3 | 21·8 | -5·7 | 76 | 1·15 | 29·2 | 7 |
| Year | 59·0 | 15·0 | 99·4 | 27·3 | 20·0 | -6·7 | 78 | 43·68 | 1109·1 | 131 |
The above table, which is drawn up from the observations of several years, shows, apart from the remarkably low temperatures, an amount of both diurnal and annual variation that is very remarkable in a place so close to the sea. Strictly speaking, indeed, it should not come in the category of hot climates at all, but in the absence of other accurate material it is valuable for the purpose of showing how soon tropical temperatures are left behind as we proceed northward along the Pacific coast of Asia.
The Malay Archipelago.
—Consists of a number of large islands situated on either side of the Equator, and generally too close to it to enjoy the benefits of a well-developed monsoon.
| Batavia. Lat. 6° 11′ S.; Long. 106° 53′ E. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Mean Temperature | Absolute Maxima | Absolute Minima | Relative Humidity | Mean Monthly Rainfall | Number of Rainy Days | ||||
| F. | C. | F. | C. | F. | C. | Ins. | Mm. | |||
| January | 77·6 | 25·4 | 91·5 | 33·1 | 68·4 | 20·4 | 87·1 | 13·75 | 350 | 22·5 |
| February | 77·6 | 25·4 | 90·5 | 32·5 | 69·1 | 20·7 | 87·5 | 12·56 | 319 | 20·7 |
| March | 78·5 | 25·8 | 90·6 | 32·6 | 70·3 | 21·2 | 85·9 | 7·53 | 191 | 17·4 |
| April | 79·4 | 26·3 | 90·5 | 32·5 | 70·3 | 21·2 | 85 | 4·78 | 121 | 14·1 |
| May | 79·5 | 26·4 | 91·1 | 32·9 | 70·3 | 21·2 | 83·0 | 3·48 | 88 | 9·2 |
| June | 79·4 | 26·3 | 90·5 | 32·5 | 68·6 | 20·4 | 83·1 | 3·64 | 92 | 9·1 |
| July | 78·5 | 25·8 | 90·0 | 32·2 | 67·0 | 19·4 | 80·8 | 2·53 | 64 | 6·9 |
| August | 78·9 | 26·0 | 92·4 | 33·4 | 67·0 | 19·4 | 77·7 | 1·49 | 38 | 8·0 |
| September | 79·5 | 26·4 | 94·0 | 34·4 | 66·0 | 18·9 | 77·5 | 2·74 | 69 | 7·3 |
| October | 79·7 | 26·8 | 95·0 | 35·0 | 69·0 | 20·6 | 79·0 | 4·19 | 106 | 10·0 |
| November | 79·1 | 26·2 | 96·0 | 35·6 | 68·2 | 20·2 | 82·0 | 5·08 | 127 | 13·7 |
| December | 78·2 | 25·7 | 92·5 | 33·6 | 70·0 | 21·1 | 84·8 | 9·03 | 229 | 19·0 |
| Year | 78·9 | 26·0 | 96·0 | 35·6 | 68·2 | 20·2 | 82·8 | 70·71 | 1,796 | 154·9 |
South of lat. 10°-12°, a north-west monsoon, developing in October or November, takes the place of the south-west monsoon appearing in May in northern latitudes, and when we are sufficiently far from the Equator to be clear of the zone of calms and variable winds, it is the development of this wind that determines the appearance of the rainy season.
This, however, does not so much affect the Malay Archipelago, as nearly the whole of it is within the zone of double annual rainy seasons, and the winds on which they depend to temper the tropical heat are mainly land and sea breezes of necessarily very variable direction.
The Dutch have long had a first-class observatory established at Batavia, the capital of Java, and their results being thus of the first value may be very well taken as a type of the weather conditions of the islands to the south of the Equator, while the [table] already furnished of Singapore will serve sufficiently to illustrate the northern portion of the Archipelago.