Weather in Makassar in February

Shoulder season. February is shoulder season in Makassar — cheaper, quieter, and a genuine gamble. You should expect rain on 26 days of the month, which is more days wet than dry.

February ranks 7 of 12 in Makassar: past the worst of the year but short of August, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 26 of the month's 28 days, 9 of them heavy. At that frequency a wet-weather backup is not a contingency, it is the itinerary — book the indoor things first and treat the clear days as the bonus. Natural fibres and a second shirt for the day. At 85% nothing dries, including you.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: the day barely swings — 2.3 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest February day reached 32.8 °C and the coldest night fell to 24.7 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 81 mm — roughly 33% of the month's rain in one day.

February is statistically steady but not small: the year-to-year variation is modest in relative terms, yet the wettest February on record still delivered 382 mm against 92 mm in the driest. In a month this wet, even a tame spread is a lot of rain in absolute terms — the 249 mm average is a reasonable planning figure, not a promise.

Wind is light at 10.4 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity at 85% is the real story though — it is the number that decides how the day feels, not the 28.7 °C.

How February sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 28.6 °C in January, 28.7 here, 29.3 in March. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in February

Makassar sits close enough to the equator that daylight barely moves all year — 12.3 hours in February, against a range of just 0.6 hours across the whole calendar. Sunrise and sunset land at roughly the same time whenever you come.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 29 °C in February — warm enough that the water offers no relief from the heat. The sea peaks at 29.9 °C in April and bottoms out at 28 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

February in Makassar versus nearby

If Makassar is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Labuan Bajo is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day more rain. Denpasar is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day less rain.

So: February is a compromise. August is 25 points better and is what Makassar is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Makassar

See all twelve months in Makassar, or where else to go in February.