Phuket weather and practical
information
Phuket has a moist, tropical climate, influenced chiefly
by monsoon winds that vary in direction according to the season. From
March to September, as the sun's rays strike directly above the equator,
the land mass of Asia is heated more than is the Indian Ocean. This draws
moist hot air from the ocean over Phuket and southern Thailand, bringing
the rains of the southwest monsoon. By mid-April the winds are mainly
from the southwest and are heavy with moisture.
Northeast Monsoon
Southwest Monsoon
During the month of May, it will rain an average of 25
days making it one of the wettest months of the year. When the tilt of
the earth brings the direct sun rays south of the equator, the heating
of the Indian Ocean draws the cooler dry air of the northeast monsoon
from the highlands of Asia across the countries of South and Southeast
Asia. By October the direction of the wind will have shifted to the northeast
and Phuket will experience another intense but briefer wet period as the
northeast monsoon sweeps down the east coast of Thailand and moves back
into the Indian Ocean. By mid November the weather on Phuket will be somewhat
cooler and dryer, until March when the weather becomes perceptively warmer
and more humid preceding the onset of the next monsoon. Visiting Phuket
during the monsoon season is not unpleasant because most days are rain-free
except for showers in the afternoon. Phuket averages 2540 mm (or about
100 inches) of rain each year.
RAINFALL
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