the town to focus on the tourism sector. The museum exhibits the mining history of Sungai Lembing. It is currently managed by the Department of Museum Malaysia. On 27 March 2004, as part of a national five-year economic plan, the federal government allocated RM 7 million for improving the town; this includes improvement to the museum, which was visited by 193,000 visitors as of 2004, revival of a mining tunnel for tourism purpose, restoration of the cinema and upgrading the road that connects the town to the tin mining area. On 16 April 2005, another RM 6.3 million was allocated to restoring buildings with historic values such as clubhouses, administration buildings, factories and mining tunnels. Revitalisation funds were allocated to rebuild the town's central hawker centre. The 50 year old wooden building was demolished in 2006, and the new building opened on 27 September 2008. An arch was constructed at the entrance to the town on 6 February 2009. In 2012, three bridges were built would allow access from nearby settlements. On 31 August 2019, a fire burnt several century-old buildings including 20 shophouses, 11 terrace houses and a library. The fire displaced 53 residents. The fire prompted the Malaysian Institute of Architects (PAM) to advise officials to upgrade safety measures on historic buildings to preserve them from destruction by fire. Four months after the fire, reconstruction of one of the damaged buildings take place with a budget of RM 10 million, with advice from Kyoto University; the money was also used to upgrade existing facilities in Sungai Lembing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, following the relaxation of the movement control order and the re-opening of border crossings, tourism began to recover to pre-pandemic levels; 80 per cent of stalls in the food court reopened and some hostels in the area were fully booked. Most of the visitors during that time arrived by car rather than the more usual tourist buses. Despite the relaxation of the movement control order, social distancing and other infection control measures continued to be practised, and the mining tunnel and museum remained closed until 16 June 2020. Geography Climate Sungai Lembing's has a tropical rainforest climate, with significant rainfall occurring throughout the year. The average annual temperature is and the average annual rainfall is . Precipitation is lowest in February, with an average of . With an average of , the most precipitation falls in December.