The Weather patterns of Thailand:
Monsoons
This short article is an explanation of the weather patterns
and diving conditions throughout the year both in Phuket and the
rest of Thailand. This information will be useful in helping to
plan your diving holiday and will help you to weed through all
the rumors and exaggerations one hears about the weather in Southeast
Asia. This is mostly to alleviate fears about diving Phuket during
the ‘low season’ or the southwest monsoon.
The term monsoon means "a weather pattern in Asia" (from Arabic mawsim, meaning season),
and in Thailand, we have two monsoons during the year, the southwest
and the northeast.
The northeast monsoon lasts from October until May and is considered
to be the high season in Phuket (and most of the rest of Thailand)
and is generally understood to be the best time of year for both
traveling and scuba diving. This is true to a certain extent,
as the weather is consistent and predictable. The main reason it is
the popular time, though, is that it’s winter in Europe and
the States where most of our visitors come from, and people are
escaping the cold.
During this time, since the wind is blowing from the northeast,
on the West Coast of Thailand (Phuket side), boats can reach even
the most remote of sites as strong winds don’t effect the
sea until you reach far, far offshore. And, during the months of February,
March, and April, the sea is generally flat and feels more like
a lake than an ocean or sea. This is the transition time and when it gets hot. Many people say we have actually have three seasons here, cool, rainy and hot. The three months in the spring are hot here and the best time for diving.
During the northeast monsoon, the wind can be very strong at
times, 15-25 knots, so the Gulf of Thailand experiences fairly
high waves and often times boats to Koh Samui or Koh Tao can not run
due to the height of the waves. However, the dive shops dive every
day, just as they do here in Phuket.
We get stronger winds at the beginning of the northeast monsoon
(October) that normally last until January. These winds can make
it a little unpleasant getting out to dive sites which are exposed but the weather is very predictable so we know what to expect and how to plan for it. Since this
is the time of year that people from all over the world go on
holiday, they come to dive both in Phuket and in the Gulf. Again, we do have protection
so we can go diving, but we cannot always make it to exactly where
we want to go on the exact day we want. This is why we do not make specific itineraries about dive sites--we just tell you generally which areas we'll be going.
The southwest monsoon means the waves & wind come from the southwest
and since Phuket faces the west, the waves are hitting the West
Coast beaches directly making the Andaman Sea feel more like
an ocean rather than the glassy lake it usually is. We see waves
off of the beach, and the surfing gets
pretty good (well, a surfer would call me a liar, but the point is that there are actually waves during the summer months on Phuket's beaches making swimming more hazardous). Rain is more common which makes the country-side more green, tropical, and beautiful.
The Gulf, since it is protected for the most part from westerly
winds, experiences flatter seas than Phuket does during the
southwest
monsoon. However, it rains there just as much as it rains in Phuket
during that time.
Compared to most other places in the world
that are above or below
20º from the Equator, the weather here is not severe. We rarely
get typhoons or hurricanes or even severe tropical storms. Besides
the constant heat here, we have some of the best and safest weather
in the world.
[New note: Tsunamis are of course extremely rare and yes, we had one on December 26, 2004 that caused a huge loss of life especially on the coast north of Phuket and in Phi Phi Island. No on expects this to happen again in any of our lifetimes. Phuket has fully recovered from the affects of the waves. Khao Lak is on it's way to recovery (most hotels have reopened) and Phi Phi is operational. Diving and the coral reefs were not affected at all, so diving conditions are normal or the same as prior to the tsunami.]
The trick for diving is having protection from the waves. Unfortunately,
many of Thailand’s dive sites do not have protection from
rough weather as we are diving at pinnacles and other areas offshore
away from large islands. Fortunately, we rarely have seriously rough seas and we can usually get back to protected areas quickly when necessary. Since the sea height is unpredictable
during the southwest monsoon on the Phuket side, and unpredictable
during the northeast monsoon on the Gulf side, it makes it difficult
to plan trips to any areas that don’t offer proper protection
from the waves. Thus, trips to Sail Rock in the Gulf and trips to
Richelieu Rock from Phuket are difficult since these dive sites
have little protection from the weather. Due to the distances
involved in making trips to Burma (Mergui trips are usually a 1,000km round trip),
we generally do not schedule trips to these areas during the southwest
monsoon (June until October).
Since the distances to the dive sites of better quality (Similan,
Burma, etc.) are further away, we normally do trips there for
several days. Therefore, to plan trips of any length of time (overnight
or longer) we need to be reasonably sure that the diving will
be good when we get there, and that there are safe and comfortable
anchorages for the customers on board. Another consideration is getting divers
on and off the boat safely and comfortably. If the waves are too
large, then the dive platform can be a dangerous place if you're
trying to re-board the boat.
One of the islands which offers world class diving year-round, Ko Similan, is large enough that if there are large waves, we can get shelter behind the island (on the East Coast). We will not have as many dive site choices if the waves are larger than normal (normal wave height is about 1m or 3ft), but that doesn't mean that we can't dive. And, since the Similans are almost 40 nautical miles from shore, visibility is never affected by rain run off. In fact, during the southwest monsoon, since the water is moving up from the southwest, waves and currents are bringing in clear, clean water from offshore.
The main problem diving the Similan Islands during the summer months, June until September, is the lack of people wanting to go--not that we physically cannot. At that time of year, people are traveling to more temperate climes rather than the hot tropics, so there are very few scheduled liveaboards during this time as we can't get enough people together on a consistent basis. Almost every boat at one time or another has tried a summer schedule and few, if any, have ever been successful at it.
Full boat charters are possible and the diving can be quite good as there are certainly no crowded dive sites. Nautica and Colona will attempt a summer schedule this year, 2007. Phi Phi Islands is a good place to do a two-day trip during the summer months. The other option some of the nicer, better equipped boats take is to do a season in Indonesia. The diving in many parts of Indonesia is wonderful during the northern hemisphere's summer months, so some Thai-flagged boats are taking advantage of this--as well as a lot of Indonesian boats of course.
Just to sum up here, the problem has always been perception;
and the Tourism Authority of Thailand and other major tourism
promoters (who are not divers) don't do much to help the situation.
The fact of the matter is that we have very few people who visit
Phuket (or Thailand) during the "low season" mostly
due to the fact that more people in the northern hemisphere travel far from home in the
wintertime.
What does this mean for us? It's harder to make a living. What
does it mean for the visitor? Prices are down, there are less
people around, and your stay is generally more pleasant. What does it mean for diving? As long as the dive sites are not too far away and are not too exposed, then the diving is fine. But, places like the Mergui Archipelago are generally off limits.
Happy Diving,
John and Bent
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