Thailand Weather

Thailand lies just south of the Tropic of Cancer, its southern border being very close to the equator. Thus it has a tropical climate, characterized by extreme heat and humidity. As a result the country is lush and fertile with a wide variety of flora and fauna.

Thailand has a tropical monsoon climate. The rainy season is from May to October when the south-west monsoon sweeps across the Indian Ocean to drench Thailand , hitting from the south first. The cool, dry season is from November to February when the north-east monsoon brings cooler, drier weather from China . This hits the peninsula east coast after crossing the South China Sea , making it very moist, and therefore extending this region's rainy season until January or later. This rain makes Thailand an ideal place to grow rice in its waterlogged paddy fields. Thailand also has tropical rainforests in areas of high and prolonged rainfall in the southern peninsula. The rains are heaviest during August and September and there may be floods in October when the ground has become completely saturated.

The temperatures tend to vary more from season to season in the north while remaining fairly even in the south nearer the equator. March until June is the hot season with the north-east plateau reaching 39ºC. The temperature can drop to 13ºC in the north at night during the cold season (November to February) and it may be a good idea to have warmer clothing for the evenings. Bangkok is always ridiculously hot and humid all year round with little variation in temperature - usually around 35ºC.