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The climate of Laos
Laos, or officially the Lao People’s Republic, is a country located in the southeastern part of Asia. The country borders the countries of China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar and is a landlocked country. However, a large number of rivers flow through the country. Several of these rivers flow into the South China Sea. The most important river is the Mekong River which flows along the border with Thailand and continues in Cambodia. The largest part of Laos has a tropical savannah climate (type Aw according to the Köppen climate classification). A region in the eastern part of the country has a tropical monsoon climate and the most northern part of the country has a warm China climate (type Cwa). During the summer this area gets more than 400 millimeters of rain.

 

Climate information of places and areas in Laos
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific information about weather and climate can be found on the climate pages per area or town. As for Laos the following climate information is available:

Luang Prabang
Muang Ngoi Neua
Vang Vieng
Vientiane
     

Temperatures
Laos mainly consists of rugged mountainous terrain with lower areas along the border with Thailand in the west. The lowest part of Laos is the Mekong River with an average altitude of about 70 meters above sea level. The many differences in altitude (the highest point in the country is at an altitude of 2,817 meters) causes unstable precipitation patterns. On the windward side of a mountain is may rain for several days in a row while at the same time it is sunny on the leeward side. Because of the differences in altitude and the geographical variation there are also large differences in temperatures. In the drier places it may be very hot during the summer. In places where it does rain (mostly on the windward side of a mountain) it may be 5-10 degrees cooler ate the same time. In the lower areas average maximum temperatures are between 26-30 degrees Celsius (78.8-86 degrees Fahrenheit) during the winter. During the hottest month (April) temperatures may rise up to 33-38 degrees Celsius (91.4-100 degrees Fahrenheit).

Rainy season
Large differences can be recorded in the number of rainy days and precipitation figures between the driest months (December and January) and the period from May till September. During the rainy season which starts in May about 250-350 millimeters of precipitation falls per month. The northern part of the country may even record up to 600 millimeters of precipitation per month during the wettest months. In October, when dry air is supplied from the north precipitation figures rapidly decrease. From this moment precipitation figures remain low till April.

Hurricanes
During the hurricane season from June till December there is a risk of hurricanes in Laos. Laos is situated in a supply route. However, because Laos is landlocked and is protected by mountains the number of hurricanes that eventually reach Laos is small. If a hurricane does reach Laos it leaves a trail of destruction and may even cause casualties just like in September 2009 when hurricane Ketsana hit Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

 

Climate figures
Throughout Laos several climate figures and temperatures can be recorded. The figures below are for the capital Vientiane and cannot be seen as an average for the country. For climate figures for other places and regions in Laos please, visit the individual climate pages.

average
 maximum
temperature (°C)

average
minimum

temperature (°C)
average
hours of sunshine

per
day
average days with precipitation
per month
average
mm
precipitation
per month
average
sea
temperature (°C)
January 29 16 8 2 n/a
February 32 18 8 3 n/a
March 35 21 8 5 n/a
April 36 24 8 9 n/a
May 34 24 7 17 n/a
June 33 25 5 19 n/a
July 32 25 5 20 n/a
August 32 24 5 22 n/a
September 32 24 5 19 n/a
October 31 23 8 9 n/a
November 30 19 8 2 n/a
December 29 16 8 1 n/a
= 0-5 mm ● = 6-30 mm ● = 31-60 mm ● = 61-100 mm ● = 101-200 mm ● = over 200 mm
= 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches

More climate information
Climate tables are useful but they don’t give an overall picture of the climate and possible weather conditions during a period of time. How high the chances are of hot or cold weather or hurricanes can often not be found in these tables. This is why we offer extra climate information per month. The figures below are for the capital Vientiane. For climate figures on specific regions and places please, visit the relevant individual climate pages.
 

chance of
(very) hot

weather

chance of
(very) cool
weather
chance of
long-term

precipitation
chance of
hurricanes
(cyclones)
chance of
sunny days

UV-index

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
click here for the explanation of the symbols

 

Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.

 

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