Resilience Scanner

Kuala Lumpur is projected to face significant climate hazards, including frequent heatwaves that may render urban life increasingly uncomfortable and exacerbate health issues. The city will experience heavy rainfall events, resulting in a heightened risk of flooding and infrastructure strain. In addition to these hazards, prolonged drought conditions are anticipated, threatening water resources and agricultural outputs. Furthermore, the risk of arbovirus transmission is expected to rise, posing serious threats to public health, particularly with increasing incidences of dengue. Alongside this, Kuala Lumpur faces an elevated malaria risk, linked to changing climatic conditions that favor mosquito breeding. Taken together, these vulnerabilities indicate a concerning trajectory for the city, as it navigates a future where climate change impacts become more pronounced, necessitating urgent attention to enhance community resilience in the face of these challenges.

Hazard Outlook

How will Kuala Lumpur's projected climate hazards compare to other cities under a 3.0°C future warming scenario?

Elevation

22nd percentile High exposure

At 18 m elevation, Kuala Lumpur faces high risk from coastal flooding and sea level rise.

Kuala Lumpur
-8.0 Lower → Higher 4k

Heavy Rainfall Days

64th percentile Elevated exposure

With 11 days of heavy rainfall expected, Kuala Lumpur ranks higher than most cities for extreme precipitation events.

Kuala Lumpur
0.0 Fewer → More 36

Maximum Rainfall

61st percentile Elevated exposure

Kuala Lumpur's projected maximum rainfall of 12 mm is higher than most cities globally.

Kuala Lumpur
0.0 Lower → Higher 35

Maximum Temperature

38th percentile Moderate exposure

Kuala Lumpur's projected maximum temperature of 9.1°C is near the median of cities globally under a 3.0°C warming scenario.

Kuala Lumpur
5.0 Cooler → Hotter 13

Longest Heatwave

4th percentile Lower exposure

Kuala Lumpur may experience heatwaves lasting up to 3 days, lower than most other cities.

Kuala Lumpur
0.0 Shorter → Longer 92

Exposure Summary

Elevation
Heavy Rain
Max Rain
Max Temp
Heatwave

Adaptation Priorities

Kuala Lumpur faces high exposure to elevation and elevated exposure to heavy rain, max rain. These areas may warrant priority attention in adaptation planning.

Data source: Climate projections from the IPCC AR6 scenario analysis. See our methodology for details on how we process and interpret this data.

Deployed Solutions

Deployed climate adaptation technologies identified in Kuala Lumpur.

No solutions have been documented for Kuala Lumpur.

This is an archived snapshot of the database.

Recommended Solutions

Proven solutions from similar cities that could help diversify Kuala Lumpur's resilience portfolio