Climate

Kuantan features a tropical rainforest climate under the Köppen climate classification. Usually, the area experiences two seasons per year, i.e., the "Dry" and Hot season and the Rainy season. The "Dry" and Hot Season (a relative term as the city does not truly have a dry season) occurs when seasonal south-west winds blow from Sumatra toward the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia but are blocked by the Titiwangsa Mountain Range. The temperature may reach 40 degrees Celsius. The Rainy season usually occurs between October to March. During this season, the north-east winds bring rain to Kuantan. It can get very cloudy with a large amount of rainfall. Floods may also occur. Areas subject to possible flooding include the road to Sungai Lembing and also a few areas along the Kuantan River.
In 2006, Kuantan experienced significant air pollution that affected visibility because of the haze blowing in from Sumatra and the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

[hide]Climate data for Kuantan
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	34.2 (93.6)	35.0 (95)	35.3 (95.5)	36.0 (96.8)	37.8 (100)	36.4 (97.5)	36.0 (96.8)	34.9 (94.8)	35.3 (95.5)	35.6 (96.1)	34.0 (93.2)	33.1 (91.6)	37.8 (100)
Average high °C (°F)	29.2 (84.6)	30.4 (86.7)	31.4 (88.5)	32.4 (90.3)	32.8 (91)	32.5 (90.5)	32.2 (90)	32.3 (90.1)	32.1 (89.8)	31.8 (89.2)	30.3 (86.5)	28.9 (84)	31.4 (88.5)
Daily mean °C (°F)	24.6 (76.3)	25.2 (77.4)	25.9 (78.6)	26.6 (79.9)	26.9 (80.4)	26.7 (80.1)	26.3 (79.3)	26.3 (79.3)	26.2 (79.2)	26.0 (78.8)	25.3 (77.5)	24.6 (76.3)	25.9 (78.6)
Average low °C (°F)	21.5 (70.7)	21.7 (71.1)	22.1 (71.8)	22.8 (73)	23.2 (73.8)	22.9 (73.2)	22.5 (72.5)	22.5 (72.5)	22.5 (72.5)	22.6 (72.7)	22.4 (72.3)	22.1 (71.8)	22.4 (72.3)
Record low °C (°F)	17.0 (62.6)	17.5 (63.5)	17.5 (63.5)	19.5 (67.1)	20.5 (68.9)	19.5 (67.1)	19.0 (66.2)	19.5 (67.1)	19.0 (66.2)	20.0 (68)	18.0 (64.4)	18.0 (64.4)	17.0 (62.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	295.5 (11.634)	142.0 (5.591)	178.0 (7.008)	163.6 (6.441)	202.5 (7.972)	159.8 (6.291)	172.7 (6.799)	173.8 (6.843)	233.3 (9.185)	271.5 (10.689)	343.9 (13.539)	563.9 (22.201)	2,900.5 (114.193)
Average precipitation days	12.0	9.0	9.0	16.3	12.0	9.0	11.0	11.0	14.0	16.0	19.0	18.0	156.3
Average relative humidity (%)	86	84	84	85	84	83	83	83	83	84	88	87	84
Mean monthly sunshine hours	158.0	184.0	204.4	203.4	205.0	186.8	301.3	192.9	170.6	158.5	117.3	112.3	2,194.5
Source #1: NOAA[4]
Source #2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes and humidity)[5]

Demographics

Pahang State Mosque

Kuantan's population is approximately 607,778. The population is composed of 55% Malay, 34% Chinese, 10% Indian and 1% other races. According to the [World Gazetteer], a calculation indicates that the annual population growth of Kuantan is the greatest among the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which is 3.88 in general.
The following is based on Department of Statistics Malaysia 2010 census.^[6]

Ethnic groups in Kuantan, 2010 census
Ethnicity	Population	Percentage
Bumiputera	334,400	55.02%
Chinese	206,888	34.04%
Indian	63,817	10.5%
Others	1,215	0.2%
Non-Malaysian	1,458	0.24%

Economy

One of its major economic activities is tourism. Domestically, it is famous for the production of handicrafts, batik, keropok (dried fish crackers) and salted fish. Kuantan serves as the administrative and commercial capital of Pahang. Trade and commerce are important in the economy of the town. The timber industry, ice cream and the fishing industry also play major roles in the local economy.
There are petrochemical industries, mostly in Gebeng, an industrial area about 25 km north of Kuantan. Among the major companies operating in Kuantan are BASF PETRONAS Chemicals, MTBE/Polypropylene (M) Sdn Bhd,^[7] BP Chemicals,^[8] MTBE,^[9] Flexsys,^[10] Bredero Shaw^[11] Eastman Chemical, Kaneka,^[12] Polyplastics,^[13] Mieco,^[14] KNM,^[15] JiKang,^[16] W.R. Grace, Cryovac, Wasco Pipeline Coatings,^[17] AMC,^[18] etc.

Special Economic Zone (SEZ)

Kuantan is being identified as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The launch of SEZ in 2009 by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is of the first of its kind in Malaysia. The SEZ is located inside East Coast Economic Region (ECER) which stretches from Kertih to Pekan. It is now one of the large SEZs in Asia, covering 390,000 hectares. SEZ serves as a catalyst to fast-track the economic development in the east coast. SEZ aims to generate RM90 billion of investments and provide over 200,000 new jobs by 2020. At the centre of southeast Asia with four seaports (Kuantan Port as the main gateway) and two airports, ECER SEZ will serve good transportation link between Indochina, India, and China.
The development master plan will offer special incentives to attract investors. Include tax exemptions, import and export duties exemptions and 100 per cent investment tax allowance.