Weather in Bangkok in March

A hard month. March is a hard month in Bangkok, and worth planning around. Daytime highs average 36.8 °C and the afternoon is not negotiable — outdoor plans move to early morning or evening.

March ranks 10 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 8 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: 24 days of the month clear 35 °C — that is not a heatwave, it is the month. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest March day reached 42 °C and the coldest night fell to 15.2 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 34 mm — roughly 71% of the month's rain in one day.

This is the volatile part. March rainfall has ranged from 7 mm to 135 mm across the twenty years measured — a 128 mm spread around an average of 48 mm. The average is real but almost no individual March looks like it, so treat the figure as the middle of a wide range rather than a forecast.

Wind is light at 8.2 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 62%.

How March sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 35.9 °C in February, 36.8 here, 36.6 in April. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much. Rain has already shifted: 5 days more than February had.

Daylight in March

Bangkok sits close enough to the equator that daylight barely moves all year — 12 hours in March, 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.

March in Bangkok versus nearby

If Bangkok is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Lat Krabang is a better bet in March — 2.9 °C cooler, 1 day more rain. Hua Hin is a better bet in March — 5 °C cooler, 2 days more rain.

So: March is a compromise. December is 39 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 March.