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Cambodia Climate & Weather
The climate can generally be described as tropical. As the
country is affected by monsoon, it is hot and humid with an overage
temperature around 27.C (80.F). There are two distinct seasons: the Rainy
Season and the Dry Season. However, the Dry Season is divided into two
sub-seasons, cool and hot. These seasons are:
The Rainy season: From June till October 27-35.C (80-95.f)
The Dry season (cool): From November till February 17-27.C (80-95.F)
The Dry season (Hot) : From March till May 29-38.C (84-100.F)
Temperatures are fairly uniform throughout the Tonle Sap Basin area,
with only small variations from the average annual mean of around 25°C.
The maximum mean is about 28°C; the minimum mean, about 22°C. Maximum
temperatures of higher than 32°C, however, are common and, just before
the start of the rainy season, they may rise to more than 38°C. Minimum
temperatures rarely fall below 10°C. January is the coldest month, and
April is the warmest. Typhoons that often devastate
coastal Vietnam rarely cause damage in Cambodia.
The total annual
rainfall average is between 100 and 150 centimeters, and the heaviest
amounts fall in the southeast. Rainfall from April to September in the
Tonle Sap Basin-Mekong Lowlands area averages 130 to 190 centimeters
annually, but the amount varies considerably from year to year.
Rainfall around the basin increases with elevation. It is heaviest in
the mountains along the coast in the southwest, which receive from 250
to more than 500 centimeters of precipitation annually as the southwest
monsoon reaches the coast. This area of greatest rainfall, however,
drains mostly to the sea; only a small quantity goes into the rivers
flowing into the basin. The relative humidity is high at night
throughout the year; usually it exceeds 90 percent. During the daytime
in the dry season, humidity averages about 50 percent or slightly
lower, but it may remain about 60 percent in the rainy period.
The
climate in Cambodia is kinder to those who cannot tolerate extreme
temperatures. Minimum temperatures rarely fall below 10°C. January is
the coldest month, and April is the warmest. Typhoons-tropical
cyclones-that often devastate coastal Vietnam rarely cause damage in
Cambodia.
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