The climate in Southeast Asia is tropical with temperatures averaging at 30 degrees C throughout the year. Humidity is high and it rains often.

The equatorial parts of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines, have only two seasons: wet and dry. The wet, and slightly cooler season usually occurs in winter, and the dry and hotter season in summer, but there are significant local variations.

In Indochina, including north/central Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, the seasons can be broken down into hot, wet and dry, with the relatively cool dry season from November to February/March, this season being the most popular with tourists. The hot season that follows can see temperatures climb above 40C in April, cooling down as the rains start around July. Even in the wet season the typical pattern is sunny mornings with a short, torrential shower in the afternoon.

Southeast Asia is home to many mountains, and conditions are generally cooler in the highlands. In equatorial Southeast Asia, highland temperatures generally range from about 15-25C. Some of the highest mountains in Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar are so high that snow falls every year, and Indonesia is even home to a permanent glacier.