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Thailand, because of its great extent from north to south, has several climatic zones, most of the country is under the tropical monsoon climate, but the southern regions have typical characteristics of the equatorial climate, while in the northern mountainous areas the climate gradually becomes more temperate.
THE CLIMATE OF THAILAND: TWO CLIMATE SEASONS
The climate of Thailand can be divided into two seasons, the rainy season extends from May to October, but that extends until November and December in the southern regions, and the dry season which includes the months between November and April. The rainfall is more abundant along the west coast.
Within these two seasons we found that the months between March and May are the hottest months of the year, while most of the rain is made by the southwest monsoon, most of the precipitation falls in the afternoon, but during the rainy season sometimes it can rain for days.
THE CLIMATE OF THAILAND: THE RAIN
On average there are about 1,600 mm of rainfall throughout the country, but the southern coastal regions sometimes exceed 3,000 mm of rainfall in a year, while the northern inland areas stop at 1,000 mm per year. The capital Bangkok, whose rainy season runs from May to October, has an annual average of 1,500 mm of rain. In islands such as Phuket or Ko Samui, rainfall reaches an average of 2,000 mm per year.
THE CLIMATE OF THAILAND: TEMPERATURES
Temperatures are subject to slight seasonal variations, in Bangkok for example there are maximum average temperatures of 35 ° C in the hottest month and 31 ° C in the coldest month, even the minimum average temperatures vary slightly, between 26 ° C in April, and 22 ° C in December.
The islands along the west coast, the one overlooking the Andaman sea, have constant temperatures all year round and heavy rains. In the island of Phuket, which is located in this area of the country, the rainiest period is from May to October, the annual average rainfall is over 2,200 mm.
Along the east coast overlooking the Gulf of Thailand temperatures are constant throughout the year, but the amount of rainfall is lower than on the west coast. For example on the island of Koh Samui, the annual average rainfall is 1,950 mm. The rains fall mostly between October and December, the driest months are those between February and April.
The northern inland areas have a milder climate, with slightly lower temperatures, and less rainy than the rest of the country. In the city of Chiang Mai the rains fall mainly between May and October, while between November and April the climate is rather dry. The average annual rainfall in Chiang Mai slightly exceeds 1,100 mm.
The sea water temperatures of Thailand are excellent for swimming in any season, in fact they vary between 28 ° C and 30 ° C.
WHEN TO GO TO THAILAND
The best time for a trip to Thailand are the months between mid-November and February, when the weather is milder, rainfall is less frequentand and humidity lower.
The Climate of Phuket.
Climate of the Phi Phi Islands.
THAILAND CLIMATE: CLIMATIC TABLES
BANGKOK (3 meters) | ||||
Month | Average low (°C) | Average high (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precip. days |
January | 22,6 | 32,5 | 13,3 | 1,8 |
February | 24,4 | 33,3 | 20,0 | 2,4 |
March | 25,9 | 34,3 | 42,1 | 3,6 |
April | 26,9 | 35,4 | 91,4 | 6,6 |
May | 26,3 | 34,4 | 247,7 | 16,4 |
June | 26,1 | 33,6 | 157,1 | 16,3 |
July | 25,7 | 33,2 | 175,1 | 17,4 |
August | 25,5 | 32,9 | 219,3 | 19,6 |
September | 25,0 | 32,8 | 334,3 | 21,2 |
October | 24,8 | 32,6 | 292,1 | 17,7 |
November | 23,9 | 32,4 | 49,5 | 5,8 |
December | 22,0 | 31,7 | 6,3 | 1,1 |
YEAR | 24,9 | 33,3 | 1648,2 | 129,9 |
CHANG MAI (310 meters) | ||||
Month | Average low (°C) | Average high (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precip. days |
January | 14,9 | 29,8 | 4,2 | 0,7 |
February | 16,2 | 32,7 | 8,9 | 0,9 |
March | 19,5 | 35,2 | 17,8 | 2,3 |
April | 22,9 | 36,5 | 57,3 | 6,8 |
May | 23,8 | 34,2 | 162,0 | 15,0 |
June | 24,0 | 32,7 | 124,5 | 17,1 |
July | 23,9 | 31,8 | 140,2 | 18,9 |
August | 23,7 | 31,5 | 216,9 | 20,9 |
September | 23,2 | 31,7 | 211,4 | 17,8 |
October | 22,2 | 31,4 | 117,6 | 11,7 |
November | 19,2 | 30,1 | 53,9 | 4,9 |
December | 15,7 | 28,6 | 15,9 | 1,4 |
YEAR | 20,8 | 32,2 | 1130,6 | 118,4 |
THE CLIMATE OF THAILAND ISLANDS
PHUKET (3 meters) | ||||
Month | Average low (°C) | Average high (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precip. days |
January | 24,5 | 32,7 | 30,3 | 4,6 |
February | 24,9 | 33,6 | 23,9 | 3,1 |
March | 25,4 | 34,0 | 73,5 | 6,7 |
April | 25,8 | 33,9 | 142,9 | 11,8 |
May | 25,6 | 32,8 | 259,5 | 18,8 |
June | 25,5 | 32,4 | 213,3 | 18,2 |
July | 25,1 | 32,0 | 258,2 | 19,6 |
August | 25,3 | 32,0 | 286,8 | 19,0 |
September | 24,6 | 31,5 | 361,2 | 22,1 |
October | 24,5 | 31,5 | 320,1 | 22,5 |
November | 24,7 | 31,7 | 177,4 | 15,4 |
December | 24,4 | 31,7 | 72,4 | 9,3 |
YEAR | 25,0 | 32,5 | 2219,5 | 171,1 |
KO SAMUI (3 meters) | ||||
Month | Average low (°C) | Average high (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precip. days |
January | 24,2 | 29,0 | 86,2 | 11,0 |
February | 25,0 | 29,4 | 54,4 | 5,6 |
March | 25,6 | 30,6 | 80,8 | 5,9 |
April | 26,1 | 32,0 | 83,1 | 8,6 |
May | 25,7 | 32,6 | 155,9 | 15,6 |
June | 25,5 | 32,5 | 124,1 | 13,7 |
July | 25,1 | 32,2 | 116,3 | 14,4 |
August | 25,2 | 32,1 | 110,9 | 15,2 |
September | 24,8 | 31,7 | 121,7 | 16,2 |
October | 24,3 | 30,5 | 309,8 | 19,6 |
November | 24,1 | 29,6 | 506,6 | 19,2 |
December | 23,9 | 29,2 | 210,3 | 13,7 |
YEAR | 25,0 | 31,0 | 1960,1 | 158,7 |
SEA WATER TEMPERATURE
PHUKET | ||||
Month | Sea Water Temperature °C | |||
January | 27 | |||
February | 28 | |||
March | 28 | |||
April | 29 | |||
May | 29 | |||
June | 29 | |||
July | 28 | |||
August | 28 | |||
September | 28 | |||
October | 28 | |||
November | 28 | |||
December | 27 |
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