FoundificMY
SGMY

Meteorologist salary in Malaysia

Gaji Pegawai MeteorologiGaji Penolong Pegawai Meteorologi

What federal agencies pay new meteorologists at each entry level under the 2026 public-service pay scale, with the allowances set by the JPA circular.

MalaysiaSSPA pay scale · Budget 2026DOSM Salaries & WagesRM per monthUpdated 29 Oct 2026
Government pay scaleBasic pay range / month
Entry, STPM or diplomaAssistant meteorology officer, C5RM1,650–6,620Entry, degreeMeteorologist, C9RM2,250–11,110PromotionGrade 10RM3,840–12,150PromotionGrade 12RM5,530–13,540PromotionGrade 14RM6,560–15,360
Minimum to maximum basicScale RM0 to RM16kSSPA pay scale, Budget 2026
Starting basicRM2,580RM30,960 a yearC9, honours degree in a listed science fieldSee the pay breakdown →With allowancesRM3,480RM41,760 a yearBasic plus RM900 fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSee the pay breakdown →With a diplomaRM1,974RM23,688 a yearC5, RM2,784 with allowancesSee every entry level →Top of grade 9RM11,110RM133,320 a yearMaximum basic at C9See the pay scale →
At a glance

Meteorologist salary in Malaysia

What the job is: Meteorologists prepare short-term or long-term weather forecasts used in aviation, shipping, agriculture and other areas and for the information of the general public. ILO ISCO-08, 2112 Meteorologists

  • Meteorologist (Pegawai Meteorologi, C9): RM2,580 basic a month (honours degree in a listed science field), up to RM3,350 with higher qualifications.
  • With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,480 a month at C9.
  • Assistant meteorology officer (C5): RM1,650 basic, RM2,460 with allowances.
  • Pay scale: grade 9 runs from RM2,250 to RM11,110, rising RM225 a year.

What a new meteorologist earns

A meteorologist at C9 starts on RM2,580 basic, plus RM900 in fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur: RM3,480 a month. Higher qualifications start higher.

Grade C9, from the SPA service scheme and the JPA allowance circular. The starting point depends on the qualification.

Qualification or pay itemGrade C9RM a month
Honours degree in science in atmospheric science or oceanographyStarting basic2,580
Honours degree in science in mathematics, physics or geophysicsStarting basic2,580
Master's degree in meteorology or a related fieldStarting basic3,020
Doctorate in meteorology or a related fieldStarting basic3,350
Fixed allowances, Kawasan AHousing (ITP) RM300, public service (ITKA) RM300, cost of living (BISH) RM300900
Total fixed pay at the start, honours degree in a listed science fieldBasic plus fixed allowances, Kawasan A3,480

Sources: SPA scheme page for grade C9; JPA Pekeliling Perkhidmatan 1/2024, Lampiran E. BISH is lower outside Kawasan A. Totals computed by Foundific.

What it means
  • A year at the start: RM3,480 × 12 = RM41,760.
  • Allowances counted here are the fixed ones in the JPA circular. Any allowance tied to a particular post is not included.

How to become a meteorologist

Meteorologists enter at C5 and C9, depending on the qualification.

Entry levelQualificationStarting basic, RMWith allowances, RM
Assistant meteorology officer (Penolong Pegawai Meteorologi, C5)STPM with principal passes in physics and mathematics, or science matriculation1,6502,460
Assistant meteorology officer (Penolong Pegawai Meteorologi, C5)Engineering certificate in electrical, electronic or mechanical engineering1,7312,541
Assistant meteorology officer (Penolong Pegawai Meteorologi, C5)Diploma in electrical (communications or power), electronic or mechanical engineering1,9742,784
Assistant meteorology officer (Penolong Pegawai Meteorologi, C5)Diploma in industrial chemistry or computer science1,9742,784
Meteorologist (Pegawai Meteorologi, C9)Honours degree in science in atmospheric science or oceanography2,5803,480
Meteorologist (Pegawai Meteorologi, C9)Honours degree in science in mathematics, physics or geophysics2,5803,480
Meteorologist (Pegawai Meteorologi, C9)Master's degree in meteorology or a related field3,0203,920
Meteorologist (Pegawai Meteorologi, C9)Doctorate in meteorology or a related field3,3504,250

Source: SPA scheme pages. Allowances from the JPA circular, Kawasan A: C5 RM810, C9 RM900. Totals computed by Foundific.

What it means
  • Bahasa Melayu: every route needs a credit in Bahasa Melayu at SPM or SVM.

How pay grows on the government scale

Grade 9 pay rises RM225 a year, from RM2,250 up to RM11,110. Promotion to a higher grade moves an officer onto a higher range.

Minimum and maximum monthly basic salary for each SSPA grade, 2026.

GradeWhoMinimumMaximumYearly increment
5Assistant meteorology officer, entry with STPM or a diploma1,6506,620145
9Meteorologist, entry with a degree2,25011,110225
10Promotion grade3,84012,150250
12Promotion grade5,53013,540270
14Promotion grade6,56015,360320

Source: Ministry of Finance, Budget 2026 establishment list, Lampiran A: SSPA salary codes and minimum-maximum salaries (page A-1). Basic salary only.

What it means
  • The grade 9 scale allows yearly increments of RM225.

Pay after 5, 10 and 20 years

Starting at RM2,580 at grade 9, with the RM225 yearly increment and no promotion. The grade maximum, RM11,110, is reached after about 38 years.

Years in gradeBasic, RM a monthWith fixed allowances, RM a monthFixed pay, RM a year
At the start2,5803,48041,760
After 5 years3,7054,60555,260
After 10 years4,8305,73068,760
After 20 years7,0807,98095,760

Foundific calculation from the Budget 2026 SSPA scale, with fixed allowances at the Kawasan A rate, which do not rise with increments. Promotion, special payments and allowance changes are not included.

Compared with Malaysian pay overall

A new meteorologist's fixed pay, RM3,480, is above the RM2,940 median for Malaysian citizens. The professional, scientific and technical industry median, RM3,677, covers workers of all grades and years.

FigureSourceRM a month
New meteorologist, C9, basic plus fixed allowances, Kuala LumpurSPA and JPA, 20263,480
Median salary, professional, scientific and technical industryDOSM, 20243,677
Median salary, all Malaysian citizensDOSM, 20252,940
Median salary, employed degree holders of all agesDOSM, 20245,724
  • Industry median covers all citizen employees in the industry.
  • DOSM figures cover all paid employees and all ages. The government figure is one fixed pay point. Use them to show scale only.
  • Compare your own pay with this scale, the DOSM figures and court awards in the Malaysia salary comparison.

Meteorologists outside government

The data used here does not cover meteorologist pay outside government.

  • DOSM publishes salaries by state, industry, occupation group and skill level, but not by job title.
  • Private surveys and job ads use different measures and samples, so their figures are not mixed into the tables here.

Data sources and coverage

Government pay for meteorologists is exact. The official data used here does not cover private-sector pay for the job.

SourceWhat it givesStrength
SPA service schemes C5, C9Starting basic pay by qualificationStrong: official and current
Budget 2026, SSPA pay scaleMinimum, maximum and yearly increment for every gradeStrong: official and current
JPA SSPA circular, Lampiran EFixed allowances by grade and areaStrong: official
DOSM Salaries & Wages Survey 2024 and 2025Industry and national mediansWeak for one job title
  • A payslip shows basic plus allowances plus any shift, on-call or overtime pay, so it can be higher than the fixed figures here.

Is meteorologist work affected by AI?

The International Labour Organization puts meteorologists in its “High” group for exposure to generative AI. Its scores cover the job worldwide, so they apply in Malaysia too.

Based on the International Labour Organization's 2025 index, which scores every core task of a job from 0 (AI cannot help) to 1 (AI could do nearly all of it).

Meteorologist
HighAI exposure
Not exposedVery high

AI can do a large part of many tasks, so the job is likely to change noticeably.

  • Most exposed taskStudying data collected from meteorological stations
  • Least exposed taskConducting experiments in fog dispersal, cloud seeding
  • In numbersAI could do a large part of 6 of its 9 main tasks.
MeteorologistISCO 2112
Highexposure to generative AI
  1. Not exposed
  2. Minimal
  3. Some
  4. Moderate
  5. High
  6. Very high

Scored as ILO group 2112 Meteorologists. Average task score 0.54, higher than 91% of the 427 jobs the ILO scored.

Seven factors
FactorMeteorologist
1Exposure levelHigh
2Average task score0.54 higher than 91% of jobs
3Tasks AI could do much of6 of 9
4Hands-on or people tasks0 of 9
5How even the exposure isMixed (0.12)
6Most exposed taskStudying data collected from meteorological stations, radar… 0.65
7Least exposed taskConducting experiments in fog dispersal, cloud seeding… 0.26
Most and least exposed tasks
Meteorologist
Most exposed tasks
  • 0.65Studying data collected from meteorological stations, radar and satellite…
  • 0.64Developing and testing mathematical computer models of weather and climate…
  • 0.63Preparing and reporting short-term or long-term weather maps, forecasts and…
Least exposed tasks
  • 0.26Conducting experiments in fog dispersal, cloud seeding, rain enhancement and…
  • 0.43Participating in studies of the effect of weather on the environment
  • 0.49Analysing the impact of industrial projects and human activity on the climate…

What each factor means · How this job compares with the other salary guides

Source: ILO Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (Gmyrek et al., 2025), CC BY 4.0. Malaysian jobs are matched to ILO groups by their ISCO-08 code; MASCO follows ISCO-08 at four digits. The ILO scores international job groups, not Malaysian titles. How we read the AI scores.
What it means
  • Exposure measures how much of the work AI could do or speed up. It does not measure job cuts.

What the pay figures include

Every figure is monthly basic pay or fixed allowances, before deductions.

MeasureIncludesExcludes
Basic salaryGaji pokok on the SSPA scaleAllowances, shift, on-call and overtime pay, special payments
Fixed allowancesITP, BISH, ITKA or ITK, and BIPK as advertised for the postShift, on-call and overtime pay
DOSM salaryMonthly salaries and wages of paid employeesSelf-employed and unpaid family workers

Questions

What is the meteorologist salary in Malaysia?

A new government meteorologist starts on RM2,580 basic a month (C9, honours degree in a listed science field). With fixed allowances in Kuala Lumpur the total is RM3,480 a month, in 2026.

What is the meteorologist salary per year in Malaysia?

RM3,480 a month is RM41,760 a year in fixed pay, before any shift, on-call or overtime pay and before the special payments the government announces each year.

How does a government meteorologist's pay grow with years in service?

On the yearly increment alone, basic pay at grade 9 rises RM225 a year: from RM2,580 to about RM3,705 after 5 years and RM4,830 after 10, before any promotion. Foundific calculation from the Budget 2026 scale.

What is the highest meteorologist salary in government?

Grade 9 runs from RM2,250 to RM11,110 in basic pay. Promotion can lead to grade 14, with a maximum basic of RM15,360 a month (Budget 2026).

How much does a meteorologist earn in a private company?

The data used here does not cover meteorologist pay outside government.

What is the difference between C5 and C9 for meteorologists?

C5 (assistant meteorology officer) is the entry below degree level. It starts at RM1,650 basic with STPM or matriculation, RM1,731 with an engineering certificate and RM1,974 with a diploma. C9 (meteorologist) is the degree entry and starts at RM2,580. The C9 scale runs to RM11,110, against RM6,620 at C5.

Where do these figures come from?

Starting pay is from the SPA service scheme pages, the pay scale from the Budget 2026 establishment list, and allowances from the JPA SSPA circular. Private-sector context is from DOSM and Industrial Court awards.

MalaysiaMalaysia salary overviewPay by state, sector and skill MalaysiaScience officer salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,580 starting basic MalaysiaStatistician salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,470 starting basic MalaysiaEngineer salary in MalaysiaGovernment grades, starting pay and allowancesRM2,690 starting basic

Sources

SPA service schemes, Ministry of Finance Budget 2026, JPA SSPA circular, DOSM
  1. Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, Syarat Permohonan: Penolong Pegawai Meteorologi Gred C5.
  2. Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, Syarat Permohonan: Pegawai Meteorologi Gred C9.
  3. Ministry of Finance, Budget 2026 establishment list, Lampiran A. SSPA minimum-maximum salaries, page A-1.
  4. JPA, Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bil. 1/2024 (SSPA), Lampiran E: ITP, ITKA and BISH by grade and area.
  5. DOSM, Salaries & Wages Survey Report 2025 and the 2024 report.