Climate Change Overview

Country Summary

This page presents high-level information for Thailand's climate zones and its seasonal cycle for mean temperature and precipitation for the latest climatology, 1991-2020. Climate zone classifications are derived from the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system, which divides climates into five main climate groups divided based on seasonal precipitation and temperature patterns. The five main groups are A (tropical), B (dry), C (temperate), D (continental), and E (polar). All climates except for those in the E group are assigned a seasonal precipitation sub-group (second letter).  Climate classifications are identified by hovering your mouse over the legend. A narrative overview of Thailand's country context and climate is provided following the visualizations.

The Kingdom of Thailand is located in Southeast Asia and covers an area of 513,115 km2. Myanmar borders Thailand to the west. Laos borders Thailand to the north. Cambodia borders Thailand to the east. Malaysia borders Thailand to the south. It is divided into 5 parts, made up of the Central, North, Northeast, East, and South. Approximately 47% of the nation’s total area is categorized as agricultural land. Over the last four decades, Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development, moving from a low-income to an upper middle-income country in less than a generation. The country’s economy is mainly driven by its agriculture, industrial and services, and tourism sectors, supporting its population of approximately 69.8 million (2020) people. The proportion of the urban population to the total population has also gradually increased following the expansion of the economy. Coastal erosion is a major coastal problem, which is more prevalent on the Gulf of Thailand coast than the Andaman Sea coast. It affects local fishing communities as well as major seaports and industrial estates along the coast. This increases the risk of climate change impacts from extreme weather events, such as sea level rise and flooding, and increases in temperature and precipitation, which all impact the country’s main economic sectors, especially agriculture and tourism.