Weather in Siem Reap in March

A hard month. March asks something of you. Go in knowing what. Daytime highs average 36.7 °C and the afternoon is not negotiable — outdoor plans move to early morning or evening.

March ranks 9 of 12 in Siem Reap: past the worst of the year but short of December, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 9 days, 1 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 41.8 °C and the coldest night fell to 16.6 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 27 mm — roughly 59% of the month's rain in one day.

March is moderately variable: 10 mm in the driest year against 119 mm in the wettest, around an average of 46 mm. Roughly two Marchs in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind is light at 5.3 km/h, so the temperature on the page is close to the temperature on your skin, and humidity is unremarkable at 57%.

How March sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 35.9 °C in February, 36.7 here, 36 in April. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much. Rain has already shifted: 6 days more than February had.

Daylight in March

Siem Reap 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: 16.1 °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 Siem Reap versus nearby

If Siem Reap is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Ubon Ratchathani is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 3 days less rain. Nakhon Ratchasima is close enough to be a coin toss — within a degree on temperature, 1 day less rain.

So: March is a compromise. December is 31 points better and is what Siem Reap 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 Siem Reap

See all twelve months in Siem Reap, or where else to go in March.