Climate of Bangladesh

Climate of Bangladesh

Where is the country of Bangladesh located? Bangladesh is a country in Asia with a tropical monsoon climate throughout the country (type Am according to the Köppen climate classification). The monsoon has a clear impact on the way people live and work in Bangladesh. The heavy rainfall during the rainy season causes large parts of Bangladesh to flood from May to October. Not only the large amount of rainwater that falls in the country itself, but also the billions of liters of rainwater from the Himalayas, eventually end up in Bangladesh via the river deltas. On the one hand, the monsoon causes a lot of misery in the form of damage and casualties, on the other hand, it makes the country of Bangladesh very fertile.

Rainy season

The monsoon period officially lasts from June to August, with the months of May and September as transition months. During the monsoon, there is often more than five hundred millimeters of precipitation monthly locally, mainly in the form of showers, which can last for several hours. The greatest chance of showers is in the afternoon and early evening. It often clears up quickly after that. The large amount of precipitation, in combination with temperatures that average between 30 and 37 degrees, ensures a high relative humidity, which makes it feel very stuffy, especially during this period. The average relative humidity in the summer months is well above eighty percent, while in the winter it is often only between seventy and seventy-five percent. The rainy season ends in October after which very stable and mainly sunny weather prevails. Especially in the relatively cool months of November, December and January you can see many clear blue skies and rain is a rare phenomenon.

Temperatures

Bangladesh also has two seasons in terms of temperature: the slightly cooler winter with maximum temperatures between 22 and 29 degrees Celsius and minimum temperatures ranging from 8 to 19 degrees. Much depends on its location in relation to the sea and its height in relation to sea level. In the spring, the temperature quickly rises to values ​​of no less than 34 to 37 degrees, after which the start of the monsoon period causes a slight tempering of the heat. In the summer months the difference between day and night is the smallest. During the day it is about 31 to 34 degrees, while at night the mercury drops to just below thirty degrees.

Hurricanes

The biggest natural disasters in Bangladesh are floods and mudslides. Bangladesh has to deal with intense flooding mainly because to the north of Bangladesh, in India, one of the wettest regions in the world is located. With an average annual precipitation of almost 12 thousand millimeters, Cherrapunji (just above the border with Bangladesh) is one of the wettest places on earth. Almost all of the rainwater that falls there comes to Bangladesh. Another threat that lurks is hurricanes. Bangladesh is located in a region where hurricanes can form between May and December. Very sporadically, such a tropical storm reaches Bangladesh, with all its consequences.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

Maximum temperature Minimum temperature Hours of sunshine per day Days of rainfall per month
January 26℃ 13℃ 9 1
February 29℃ 16℃ 8 2
March 33℃ 22℃ 7 3
April 36℃ 25℃ 7 6
May 35℃ 28℃ 6 10
June 34℃ 28℃ 3 15
July 33℃ 27℃ 2 15
August 32℃ 27℃ 2 15
September 32℃ 26℃ 3 11
October 32℃ 25℃ 6 6
November 29℃ 19℃ 8 1
December 27℃ 15℃ 8 1

Best time to visit Bangladesh

Do you want to know when is the best time to travel to Bangladesh? You can determine the best time to travel to a destination based on the weather and climate. In addition, there are other factors that are not directly related to the weather and that can influence the best travel periods for a travel destination. Think, for example, of holidays or festive periods, which makes traveling more interesting or not, because daily life comes to a standstill as a result. Bangladesh is one of the wettest countries in the world. If you realize that in an average year there is about three to four times as much rain as in the Netherlands, then you can imagine what amounts you will have. Because the country is largely flat and the river deltas of the Ganges and Brahmaputra dominate the country, there is a fairly high risk of flooding. During the monsoon period, the area is regularly hit and sometimes large parts of the lowest parts of Bangladesh are flooded. It is quite common for as much as two-thirds of the country to be flooded during monsoons. It will come as no surprise to anyone that this makes traveling to and through Bangladesh more difficult. Our first advice is to avoid Bangladesh during monsoons if at all possible. The worst are the months of June,

Go to Bangladesh in winter

The dry season in Bangladesh starts in November and lasts until March. Because there is still a chance of a stray cyclone in November and the temperature can already rise considerably in March, the period from December to February is the best time to travel to Bangladesh. You can call January downright dry and you can almost neglect the rain that falls in December and February. Temperatures are somewhat moderate in winter, which in combination with the small amounts of precipitation makes for wonderful travel conditions.

Cyclones

We call them hurricanes, in America they call them hurricanes and in Asia they are cyclones (cyclones). We are talking about tropical storms that reach speeds well above 100 kilometers per hour. The heaviest cyclones reach two hundred kilometers per hour or even higher. Such deep tropical depressions can form over the Bay of Bengal from mid-April to early December. From there they mainly migrate to Bangladesh and the east coast of India.

Bangladesh