WEATHER
Thailand’s climate varies by region and the following cover just the Bangkok central region, and the north, and northeast. The peninsular south is less predictable and more subject to variations. Thailand’s climate is tropical but not oppressively hot as in some other tropical countries around the world. However, what you consider hot may depend on where you’re from, your body size, and your body natural metabolism. The seasons are determined by the “monsoons” which are consistent wind patterns change at different times at the year due to the differences between land and sea temperatures and pressures. The seasons are as follows:
November through February – Dry, “Cool” Season
Winds are predominantly from the north when the season starts. Day time high temperatures are between 20deg -26deg Celsius/68deg – 81deg Fahrenheit, humidity between 50% - 60%. Every day is a sunny day. The ground will still be saturated in many places in November due to the previous rainy season. This is the season to travel around Thailand.
March through June – Hot Season
Travellers unaccustomed to the heat should not arrive in this period, or be very careful to avoid problem associated with heat such as sunstroke etc. Even the Thais have problems in the hottest spells. Temperatures are between 20deg -35deg Celsius/68deg – 98deg Fahrenheit, and can soar to 40deg Celsius/ 105deg Fahrenheit on the hottest days and at night the humidity rises. Sometimes between late June to late July, evening downpours start to come.
July through October – Rainy Season
By “rainy”, it’s about evening downpours, it rarely rains for more than an hour or so a time. The mornings are usually sunny, but a thunderstorm or two can come towards the late afternoon or at night. This usually starts in late July or August, but in September there’s a thunderstorm on most days, often resulting in flooded streets but cooler night-time temperatures. Because Bangkok’s roads you rarely find any place with more than a foot of water and it usually drains away slowly in a few hours. By late September and October, the major rivers are high and there’s sometimes permanent flooding along the river, sometimes quite deep. The season usually ends abruptly in late October when the winds suddenly change to the north.
