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Cambodia's
climate ? like that of the rest of Southeast Asia ? is
dominated by the monsoons, which are known as tropical
wet and dry because of the distinctly marked seasonal
differences. In summer, moisture? laden air? the
southwest monsoon ? is drawn landward from the Indian
Ocean and the Gulf of Thailand. The southwest monsoon
brings the rainy season from mid? May to mid? September
or to early October, and the northeast monsoon flow of
drier and cooler air lasts from early November to March
and then hotter air prevails in April and early May.
The
southern third of the country has a two-month dry
season; the northern two-thirds, a four-month one. Temperatures are fairly uniform throughout the Tonle Sap
Basin area, with only small variations from the average
annual mean of around 25șC. The maximum mean is about
28șC and the minimum mean, about 22șC. Maximum
temperatures of higher than 32șC, however, are common
and, just before the start of the rainy season, they may
rise to more than 38șC. Minimum temperatures rarely
fall below 10șC.
January
is the coldest month, and April is the warmest. Typhoons
? tropical cyclones ? that often devastate coastal
Cambodia rarely cause damages in Cambodia. The total
annual rainfall average is between 100 and 150
centimeters, and the heaviest amounts fall in the
southeast.
Rainfall
from April to September in the Tonle Sap Basin of Mekong
Lowlands area averages 130 to 190 centimeters annually,
but the amount varies considerably from year to year.
Rainfall around the basin increases with elevation. It
is heavier in the mountains along the coast in the
southwest, which receive from 250 to more than 500
centimeters of precipitation annually as the southwest
monsoon reaches the coast. This area of greatest
rainfall, however, drains mostly to the sea; only a
small quantity goes into the rivers flowing into the
basin.
The
relative humidity is high at night throughout the year;
usually it exceeds 90%. During the daytime in the dry
season, humidity averages about 50% or slightly lower,
but it may remain about 60% in the rainy period.
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