Weather & Climate of Southeast Asia
The weather for Southeast Asia is typically tropical. It's often hot and humid all year round with temperature hovering around the 30°C mark. It rains a lot too, especially during the wet seasons. Let's look at the climate in south East Asia.
The two primary seasons here both wet and dry are caused by the seasonal shift in winds or monsoon. However weather patterns can vary wildly even within the same country.
If you are planning a beach holiday or a month long regional trekking, it's prudent to know what kinds of weather you expect and to be fully prepared for it. Here's a cool guide which I have put together to help you understand the climate around Southeast Asia.
Highlands
Aside from the Amazon, Southeast Asia's tropical rain forest is second largest in the world. Due to the high altitudes climate and vegetations, the northern regions may have milder temperatures. Highland temperatures generally range from about 15-25°C. Some of the highest mountains in Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar are so high that snow falls every year, and Indonesia and Myanmar are even home to permanent glaciers.
Equatorial Regions
Focusing on the countries located on the equatorial regions such as Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, they have only two seasons, wet and dry, with the dry season somewhat hotter (up to 35°C) and the wet season somewhat cooler (down to 25°C).
To make it simple, the wet seasons usually happens during winter and the hot season during summer. Note that there are significant local variations.
Indochina
As for countries around north central Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar, and the seasons can be classified into hot, wet and dry, with the relatively cool dry season from November to February or so being the most popular with tourists. The scorching hot season that follows can see temperatures climb above 40°C in April, cooling down as the rains start around July. However, even in the "wet" season, the typical pattern is sunny mornings with a short (but torrential) shower in the afternoon as opposed to a whole day of drizzling. So this should not put you off from traveling within these periods.
Haze
In Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and some parts of Indonesia (notably Sumatra and Borneo) and the Philippines (notably Palawan), haze from forest fires (usually set intentionally to clear land) is a frequent phenomenon in the dry season from May to October. Although the haze generally comes and goes quickly with the wind, but if you have a sensitive nose notably kids, please take precautions. Singapore's National Environment Agency has useful online maps of the current situation in the entire region.
Here's a look at the individual countries and the best time or season to visit. We have broken them down for easy reference.
Bali, Indonesia
Best time to go: April to October.
Temperatures: Average 24-30 degrees Celsius
Weather conditions: Mostly dry
Peak Season: July to September (expect to pay the highest rates)
Rainy season: December to February.
Rainfall: 309mm of rain, short intense showers, still possible to enjoy a great and economical holidays.
Malaysia
Best time to go: January to March and June to September.
Temperatures: Average 31 degrees Celsius
Weather conditions: Mostly dry
Peak Season: December to the end of January(expect to pay the highest rates)
Second Peak: June, July, and August
Rainy season: October to December.
Rainfall: 250 mm of rain, monsoons continue through to February in Borneo.
Others:
On average, the warmest month is April.
On average, the coolest month is September.
April is the wettest month.
June is the driest month.
Singapore
Best time to go: January to October.
Temperatures: Average 30-33 degrees Celsius
Weather conditions: Mostly dry
Peak Season: December and June,
Super-peak: Beginning in mid-December and lasting through the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls in January or February,
Rainy season: November to December.
Rainfall: 250 mm of rain monthly
others:
On average, the warmest month is April.
On average, the coolest month is September.
April is the wettest month.
June to August is the driest month.
Thailand
Best time to go: November and December
Temperatures: Average 32 degrees Celsius
Weather conditions: Mostly dry
Peak Season: January to March,
Rainy season: September and October.
Best part of Rainy Season: May to August (Especially Gulf of Thailand )
Rainfall: 250 mm of rain monthly
Others:
Loy Krathong in November (Festival of Lights)
Songkran in April (Thai New Year).
April the hottest month in the year.
Bangkok
Best time to go: November to January (Cool Season)
Temperatures: Average 30 degrees Celsius in the daytime, 20 degrees Celsius in the evenings.
Weather conditions: Mostly dry
Hottest months: March until the rainy season begins in May
Peak Season: May, June and September,
Rainy season: June to October. Showers or thunderstorms in the afternoons.
Rainfall: 250 mm of rain monthly
Others:
Loy Krathong in November (Festival of Lights)
Songkran in April (Thai New Year).
April the hottest month in the year.
Chiang Mai
Best time to go: November to February
Temperatures: Average 30 degrees Celsius in the daytime, 15 degrees Celsius in the evenings.
Weather conditions: Mostly dry
Hot Season: March and April (25 and 40 )
Peak Season: May, June and September,
Rainy season: May to October.
Rainfall: 180 mm of rain monthly
Others:
Loy Krathong in November (Festival of Lights)
Songkran in April (Thai New Year).
Cool season from November to February
The hot season from March to June
The raining season (some want to call it the green season... more marketable) from July to October
Koh Samui
Best time to go: April to September and January to March.
Temperatures: Average 30 degrees Celsius in the daytime, 15 degrees Celsius in the evenings.
Weather conditions: Mostly dry
Dry Season: December - February
Hot Season: March - August (28-35 degrees Celsius at daytime)
Peak Season: May, June and September,
Rainy season: September - November
Rainfall: 180 mm of rain monthly
Others:
Loy Krathong in November (Festival of Lights)
Songkran in April (Thai New Year).
Cool season from November to February
The hot season from March to June
The raining season (some want to call it the green season... more marketable) from July to October
Phuket
Best time to go: November to February .
Temperatures: Average 30 degrees Celsius in the daytime, 23-25 degrees Celsius in the evenings.
Weather conditions: Mostly dry
Hot Season: March - May (28-35 degrees Celsius at daytime)
Peak Season: January to March,
Rainy season: May to October
Rainfall: 180 mm of rain monthly
Others:
Loy Krathong in November (Festival of Lights)
Songkran in April (Thai New Year).
Cool season from November to February
The hot season from March to June
The raining season (some want to call it the green season... more marketable) from July to October
Vietnam
Just like Thailand, Vietnam has three distinct climates. Hanoi gets very chilly during the winder months while Ho Chi Minh City gets visited by the monsoons and temperatures are fairly pleasant in central Vietnam throughout the year.
Central Vietnam/Beaches (including Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue and Nha Trang)
Best time to go: January to May.
Temperatures: Average 21-30 degrees Celsius
Weather conditions: Mostly dry (increasingly hot and humid)
Hot Season: May to October
Peak Season: November-January and April-June, when beaches may be packed,
Rainy season: June to July and September to November in Da Nang. October to early December in Hue, Hoi An and Nha Trang.
Rainfall: 180 mm of rain monthly
Others:
Hanoi
Best time to go: March to April (spring) or October to December (autumn)
Temperatures: 18-25 degrees Celsius. In winter (January to February) daytime temperatures can get down to 12 degrees Celsius, although the season is also fairly dry.
Weather conditions: Mostly dry (increasingly hot and humid)
Hot Season: May to October
Peak Season: November-January and April-June, when beaches may be packed,
Rainy season: May to September.
Rainfall: 180 mm of rain monthly
Others:
Ho Chi Minh City
Best time to go: March to May is the hot, dry season
December to February, cooler season
Temperatures: March to May 32 degrees Celsius
December to February averaging 20-30 degrees Celsius throughout the day.
Weather conditions: Mostly dry (increasingly hot and humid)
Hot Season: May to October
Peak Season: November-January and April-June, when beaches may be packed,
Rainy season: Late May to early November.
Rainfall: 180 mm of rain monthly
Sources: Fodors.com, Frommers.com, Concierge.com, Vietnam Embassy, Wikitravel, Weather.com.
( 2 Votes )
Comments (1)