Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Ban Fangdèng Laos

In Ban Fangdèng, the wet season is oppressive and overcast, the dry season is muggy and partly cloudy, and it is hot year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 65°F to 96°F and is rarely below 60°F or above 102°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Ban Fangdèng for warm-weather activities is from early December to mid February.

The hot season lasts for 2.0 months, from March 19 to May 20, with an average daily high temperature above 94°F. The hottest month of the year in Ban Fangdèng is April, with an average high of 95°F and low of 77°F.

The cool season lasts for 2.1 months, from November 27 to January 30, with an average daily high temperature below 87°F. The coldest month of the year in Ban Fangdèng is January, with an average low of 65°F and high of 86°F.

In Ban Fangdèng, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Ban Fangdèng begins around October 30 and lasts for 5.0 months, ending around April 1.

The clearest month of the year in Ban Fangdèng is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 56% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around April 1 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around October 30.

The cloudiest month of the year in Ban Fangdèng is August, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 95% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Ban Fangdèng varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.0 months, from May 16 to November 17, with a greater than 27% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Ban Fangdèng is September, with an average of 14.3 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 6.0 months, from November 17 to May 16. The month with the fewest wet days in Ban Fangdèng is February, with an average of 1.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Ban Fangdèng is September, with an average of 14.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 50% on September 29.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Ban Fangdèng experiences extreme seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.7 months, from March 22 to January 12, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Ban Fangdèng is October, with an average rainfall of 6.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.3 months, from January 12 to March 22. The month with the least rain in Ban Fangdèng is February, with an average rainfall of 0.3 inches.

The length of the day in Ban Fangdèng varies over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 11 hours, 15 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 13 hours, 0 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:21 AM on June 2, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 0 minutes later at 6:21 AM on January 22. The earliest sunset is at 5:19 PM on November 20, and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 6 minutes later at 6:26 PM on July 7.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Ban Fangdèng during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Ban Fangdèng experiences extreme seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 9.7 months, from February 14 to December 5, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 48% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Ban Fangdèng is July, with 30.9 days that are muggy or worse.

The month with the fewest muggy days in Ban Fangdèng is January, with 10.0 days that are muggy or worse.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Ban Fangdèng does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining within 0.4 miles per hour of 2.0 miles per hour throughout.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Ban Fangdèng varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 3.9 months, from May 28 to September 25, with a peak percentage of 62% on August 6. The wind is most often from the north for 3.1 months, from September 25 to December 27, with a peak percentage of 57% on December 8. The wind is most often from the east for 3.3 months, from December 27 to April 6, with a peak percentage of 51% on January 1.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Ban Fangdèng throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Ban Fangdèng for general outdoor tourist activities is from early December to mid February, with a peak score in the first week of January.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Ban Fangdèng for hot-weather activities is from mid November to mid March, with a peak score in the second week of February.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

Temperatures in Ban Fangdèng are sufficiently warm year round that it is not entirely meaningful to discuss the growing season in these terms. We nevertheless include the chart below as an illustration of the distribution of temperatures experienced throughout the year.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.6 months, from January 27 to April 13, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.7 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Ban Fangdèng is March, with an average of 6.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from May 30 to September 22, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 4.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Ban Fangdèng is August, with an average of 4.2 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Ban Fangdèng are 14.813 deg latitude, 106.934 deg longitude, and 348 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Ban Fangdèng contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 128 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 349 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,798 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (6,332 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Ban Fangdèng is covered by cropland (52%) and trees (48%), within 10 miles by trees (84%) and cropland (16%), and within 50 miles by trees (91%).