Weather (Thailand)

Climate

Thailand has a tropical climate. Two types of monsoons – southwest monsoons and north east monsoons affect its climate. The southwest monsoons blowing from the Indian Ocean bring plenty of rain. The north-east monsoons coming from China bring dry cold winds. The monsoon starts as early as May and lasts till October, sometimes accompanied by tropical cyclones that bring heavy rain. The general weather of Thailand is hot, any time of the year, with minimum temperature being 18°C during December to January. It becomes difficult to avoid the rains at the same time avoiding crowds in this beautiful country. Hereunder, is a summary of the overall climate of Thailand:

Seasons

It may be observed from the above table that there are 3 different seasons in Thailand: Hot (March-May), Wet (May- October) and Cold (November- February). Most of the times around the year it is hot in Thailand with temperatures reaching above 30°C continuously. Rains are not effective in bringing down the temperature. They increase humidity and cause a lot of sweating. It is never cold in Thailand with the lowest mean temperature being around 18°C only. The climate is mostly hot and humid making it a perfect beach destination.

It rains quite a lot in Thailand specially during the Wet season. Sometimes it is a short spell only accompanied by thunderstorm but, sometimes, it rains continuously for days due to cyclones. The rains may interfere with your plans as the water activities remain closed during this time. The island trips may get cancelled due to heavy rains as it is unsafe to hop on a boat during these times. All you will get to do is take city tours, spend time by the beach and explore the markets or walking streets.

Best Time

The best time to visit Thailand is in the cold weather from December to February. This duration is when it rains the least in every part of Thailand. The temperatures will be moderate and is the most suited time to get some sun. Island hopping becomes all the more enjoyable. This makes it the peak and the most crowded season to visit Thailand. We have been to Thailand during the cold season as well as the monsoons. The cold season was completely rain free but it was hot during the daytime even then. During the monsoon season it rained heavily but luckily we got off from everywhere just in time. It rained only on our last day in Phuket, but, it was a continuous heavy rain which prevented us from going out. Half of our day was spoiled. Thankfully, we had completed our island tours on the previous days.

So, it is important to understand that rains are inevitable during the wet season. If you plan to visit during the wet season, make sure you check the amount of rainfall and plan your visit accordingly. You may plan to visit Thailand towards the end of September or beginning of October. For more details on what to do and not to do while in Thailand, check out our suggestions post.