Weather in Bangkok in April

A hard month. April is a hard month in Bangkok, and worth planning around. Daytime highs average 36.6 °C and the afternoon is not negotiable — outdoor plans move to early morning or evening.

April ranks 11 of 12 — near the bottom of Bangkok's year. December is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 45 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one.

Rain on 12 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for heat management rather than style: shade, water, and a schedule that gives up on the middle of the day.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: 20 days of the month clear 35 °C — that is not a heatwave, it is the month. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest April day reached 42.9 °C and the coldest night fell to 18.5 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 46 mm — roughly 61% of the month's rain in one day.

April is moderately variable: 13 mm in the driest year against 156 mm in the wettest, around an average of 75 mm. Roughly two Aprils in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 7.4 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 66%.

How April sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 36.8 °C in March, 36.6 here, 33.9 in May. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much. Rain is the thing that moves: May brings 10 days more of it, so the earlier half of a flexible trip is the safer half.

Daylight in April

Bangkok sits close enough to the equator that daylight barely moves all year — 12.4 hours in April, against a range of just 1.6 hours across the whole calendar. Sunrise and sunset land at roughly the same time whenever you come.

An inland climate

Despite being inland, the year stays fairly even: 17.1 °C between the year's warmest afternoons and coldest nights.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

April in Bangkok versus nearby

If Bangkok is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Lat Krabang is a better bet in April — 2.4 °C cooler, the same number of rain days. Hua Hin is a better bet in April — 3.7 °C cooler, 2 days more rain.

So: April is a compromise. December is 44 points better and is what Bangkok is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Bangkok

See all twelve months in Bangkok, or where else to go in April.