Seasons in Bangkok: A Guide for the Tropically Illiterate

If you’re thinking, “Wait… there are seasons in Bangkok?”… I get it. It’s a fair question. If you haven’t spent serious time here — if you’ve never visited, or if you’ve popped in and out on quick visits here and there — it’s really hard to understand the nuances of Bangkok seasonality. At first glance, the city seems like it just sweats an endless summer. And okay, that’s not an entirely unfair assessment. By any reasonable standard, it is hot year round.

But after a full year of living here — only ducking out for a few short trips (in fact, this post marks my Bangkok anniversary!) — I’ve learned that there’s a whole spectrum to how I experience Bangkok’s heat. Fifty shades of sweating your face off, I might say.

There’s the blistering, maddeningly dry heat of April (mercifully interrupted by the water-flinging chaos of Songkran, the national three-day water fight that marks the Thai New Year), the clingy monsoon-soaked humidity and unpredictable downpours of overcast August afternoons, and the delightfully crisp January mornings that gradually give way to warm, suspiciously pleasant afternoons.

The seasons change so gradually that by the time they finally shift, it feels like a surprise… even though they’ve been moving in that direction all along. I still remember the first time I felt cold here. Like, properly cold. I was riding on the back of a motorbike on a January morning. It never crossed my mind to bring a jacket, because… well, Bangkok.

But overnight, the temperature had dipped to a brisk 18°C (that’s about 64°F for my fellow metric-impaired Americans). I wrapped my arms around myself, shuddering a bit like some ailing Victorian woman recuperating by the seaside and thought: Is this what Bangkok winter feels like? Because I low-key love it.

Another belief that was shattered was my assumption that it rained on and off all year in Bangkok — and I still remember my surprise when, after several months, it struck me there hadn’t been even a drop of rain. As someone who loves the rain, I was briefly elated when that first tropical downpour returned in May after such a long hiatus.

But as rainy season started to creep back in, that joy was short-lived. I’ve been feeling that weird energy slump I usually associate with winter back home. Not because of the rain, but because of the perma-haze of a gray sky littered with storm clouds, sometimes so dense that 2 PM feels more like 5, and I think about winding down my day just as it’s getting started.

And while it’s still undeniably hot, there’s a shift in the heat — it’s thicker, you wear it almost like a fleece jacket, a bit suffocating, a bit damp, yet somehow also still cozy.

So whether you’re planning a trip and trying to figure out the right time to “do” Bangkok, or you’re thinking of moving here and wondering what to expect throughout the course of a year, my hope is that this guide will help you make sense of the city’s three seasons: hot, rainy, and “cool” (those quotation marks are working overtime).

For the tropically illiterate, let’s break it down — sweat, storms, sun, and everything in between.

The 3 Seasons in Bangkok

Curious about the weather in Bangkok in any particular month? I’m in the process of writing specific guides about each month: so far, I have written guides to June and July.

Hot Season (March through May)

• Thai: ฤดูร้อน (pronounced réu-doo rón — réu-doo meaning season, rón meaning hot)

Compared to more temperate cities, Bangkok is always hot, but March through May is when Bangkok really outdoes itself. Temperatures regularly hit highs of 35–40°C (95–104°F).

And with few storm clouds passing through to block the sun’s unrelenting rays, UV levels are sky-high. If you’re planning to be out and about, you’ll want to either slather on sunscreen or—seemingly paradoxically—cover up head-to-tie in lightweight layers.

My best tip for enjoying the hot season is to make like the locals and shift towards a quasi-nocturnal rhythm during this time. Midday streets can actually be surprisingly quieter as everyone retreats indoors to malls and cafés.

The good news? Mornings and evenings are still pleasant, especially since heavy rains don’t usually roll in until mid-May. Save early mornings for temple hopping and strolling around Bangkok’s neighborhoods by food. From noon to late afternoon, lean into Bangkok’s indoor world—mall-hopping, café-browsing, and museum-cruising.

And smack in the middle of all this heat: Songkran, Thailand’s New Year. For three days in mid-April, the city turns into a chaotic but joyful water fight.

It’s a bit overstimulating, yes, but also one of the most fun (and culturally unique) ways to cool off. Bring goggles and a waterproof phone case, and plan to sleep for approximately 16 hours after any day spent water fighting. You’ll thank me later.

Rainy Season (June through October)

• Thai: ฤดูฝน (pronounced réu-doo fŏn, réu-doo meaning season, fŏn meaning rain)

From June through October, Bangkok enters its moody monsoon phase. While it can get a bit dreary due to the near-constant overcast skies, don’t get too freaked out by the word ‘monsoon’. It’s not a constant downpour—in fact, full-on washout days are rare. Sometimes the rain clears out the humidity like a reset button. Other times, it just makes the air thicker and soupier.

And that old adage of when it rains, it pours? Well, in Bangkok, it’s maybe more apt to say when it pours, it floods.

Particularly in the smaller sois (side streets), drainage is hit-or-miss. Walking can quickly go from mildly soggy to knee-deep water. Larger roads generally handle downpours better, but if you’re on foot or riding a motorbike, you should still expect to get damp.

Temperature-wise, the heat is very inconsistent: the actual numbers in a forecast often feel like they have little relation with the felt temperature. Storms can cool things down to 25°C (77°F), but highs can still climb to 35°C (95°F).

The humidity is the most puzzling variable. Yes, you can put a number on it, but it’s still rather unpredictable and changes how the heat feels from one hour (or minute) to the next. Still, there’s a silver lining: the cloud cover takes the edge off the brutal sun, making outdoor life a little more tolerable, especially right after a particularly cleansing downpour.

Key is keeping with you a little rainy season survival kit: a plastic poncho or rain jacket, quick-dry clothes, water-friendly shoes (Crocs and socks are not ironic here, they’re strategic), and a flexible mindset. Thai time is always a bit flexible, but things are a little extra sabai sabai (Thai slang for ‘relax, no worries’) in the rainy season.

Cool Season (November through February)

• Thai: ฤดูหนาว (pronounced réu-doo năao, réu-doo meaning season, năao meaning cold)

Bangkok’s “cool” season kicks off around November and typically runs through February, which aligns nicely with the Western holiday calendar (one which Thais enthusiastically embrace). As you stroll around Christmas and New Years decorations, they actually don’t feel so place in the heat after all, by comparison to the rest of the year’s weather.

Of course, there’s no chance of a white Christmas, but after enduring the hot and rainy extremes, the relatively cooler temperatures are an absolute treat. Mornings can dip to a brisk 18°C (about 64°F) but by day that chill usually slips off, leaving sunny and comfortably warm days, ranging around 26–32°C (79–90°F). But even the hottest days are without the oppressive humidity or soaring UV-index of the other seasons.

The cool season is the one time of year where I constantly feel invited to be outside: temple visits, park picnics, rooftop bars, and long walks through old neighborhoods (like my favorite, Talat Noi) all sound like lovely ideas, with no asterisks for weather.

This is hands-down the most comfortable time to be in Bangkok, and not coincidentally, peak tourist season. Hotels fill up faster, so if you’re planning a visit, book early.

Whether you’re escaping a brutal winter or just want to see Bangkok at its gentlest — or you’re wondering when in the year you can find relief from the heat — this season is the sweet spot.