Climate and average weather in Xam Nua

In Xam Nua, the summers are humid, hot, wet, and mostly cloudy and the winters are mild and partly cloudy.

Best: early January to late March

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Xam Nua typically varies from 10°C to 29°C, and is rarely below 5°C or above 31°C. June is the hottest month of the year, while December is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit Xam Nua for warm-weather activities are from early January to late March and late October to late December.

Hottest
Jun
29°
Coldest
Dec
11°
Wettest
Aug
312 mm
Driest
Feb
17 mm
Rain / yr
1572 mm
184 wet days
Daylight
10.8–13.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
957 m
20.4°N
Clearest
Mar
51% cloud

Xam Nua weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early January to late March.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Xam Nua, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 5.5 months, from April 5 to September 17, with daily high temperatures above 26°C. The hottest month of the year in Xam Nua is June, with an average high of 29°C and low of 21°C.

The cool season lasts 2.3 months, from November 28 to February 5, with daily high temperatures below 21°C. The coldest month of the year in Xam Nua is December, with an average low of 11°C and high of 20°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in March.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2010
Feb2212
Mar2514
Apr2717
May2820
Jun2921
Jul2821
Aug2720
Sep2619
Oct2417
Nov2214
Dec2011

Average hourly temperature in Xam Nua

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on June afternoons, near 29°C, and coldest before dawn in December, near 11°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Xam Nua weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan20° / 10°244.210.97.1
Feb22° / 12°173.711.37.7
Mar25° / 14°6310.211.96.9
Apr27° / 17°11317.412.55.4
May28° / 20°20923.6134.0
Jun29° / 21°21724.513.23.5
Jul28° / 21°27626.813.13.6
Aug27° / 20°31227.412.73.7
Sep26° / 19°20021.512.14.6
Oct24° / 17°9214.611.56.1
Nov22° / 14°317117.2
Dec20° / 11°183.610.87.2

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Xam Nua gets about 1572 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.2 months, from around Apr 7 to Oct 12, peaking in August at about 92% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Dec 20.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 312 mm over about 27 wet days; February is the driest, with 17 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 3 · 92%Dec 20 · 10%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan134
Feb144
Mar3210
Apr5817
May7624
Jun8225
Jul8727
Aug8827
Sep7222
Oct4715
Nov247
Dec124

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Xam Nua collects about 1572 mm of rain across 184 wet days — roughly 131 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 312 mm, while February is the driest at just 17 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 51% of the year’s total.

050100150200250300350JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec241763113209217276312200923118
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan244
Feb174
Mar6310
Apr11317
May20924
Jun21725
Jul27627
Aug31227
Sep20022
Oct9215
Nov317
Dec184

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Xam Nua, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around October 11 and lasts for 6.9 months, ending around May 7. The clearest month is March, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 58% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 8 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around October 10. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 94% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 5 · 63%Jun 21 · 5%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4951
Feb5743
Mar5842
Apr5149
May2476
Jun694
Jul793
Aug1090
Sep2476
Oct3961
Nov5149
Dec5248

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 2, brings about 13 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 10 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.96:465:40
Feb11.36:395:58
Mar11.96:186:09
Apr12.55:506:18
May13.05:316:29
Jun13.25:276:41
Jul13.15:366:43
Aug12.75:476:29
Sep12.15:556:02
Oct11.56:035:35
Nov11.06:195:19
Dec10.86:375:23

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Xam Nua averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 0 and 14 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.2 months, from around Oct 25 to May 1. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 13 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 1 sunny days — about 95% fewer than the March peak.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightMar 614 daysJun 260 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan11Mixed
Feb11Mixed
Mar13Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May3Gloomy
Jun1Gloomy
Jul1Gloomy
Aug1Gloomy
Sep3Gloomy
Oct6Gloomy
Nov9Mixed
Dec11Mixed

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Xam Nua, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 6.9 months, from around March 30 to October 26. The muggiest month is June, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 100% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 27 to March 29, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 97% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 25 · 97%Jun 12 · 0%oppressivehumidcomfortablemuggydrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan7126300
Feb5833800
Mar22383540
Apr31245390
May1311778
Jun0027225
Jul0007426
Aug0018019
Sep0513738
Oct81736381
Nov313029100
Dec6230810

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Xam Nua is steady company: average speeds sit near 6 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmMar 10 · 6 km/hSep 2 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun6calm
Jul6calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Hazard calendar for Xam Nua

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Xam Nua's monsoon runs May–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Monsoon
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Xam Nua

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Xam Nua throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around mid March, Xam Nua is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Xam Nua for general outdoor tourist activities is from late October to late March, with a peak score in the third week of February.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationFeb 18 · 7.8

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan7.2good
Feb7.7ideal
Mar6.9good
Apr5.4fair
May4.0fair
Jun3.5fair
Jul3.6fair
Aug3.7fair
Sep4.6fair
Oct6.1good
Nov7.1good
Dec7.2good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Xam Nua for hot-weather activities run from mid February to late April and again from late October to mid November, with a peak score in the first week of March.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationMar 6 · 6.7

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Xam Nua, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around June (highs near 29°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around December (highs near 20°C), pack a light layer.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In June, Xam Nua sees daytime highs around 29°C and nights near 21°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 25 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Xam Nua by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Xam Nua peaks around August 12 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 7 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highExtremeVery highAug 12UV 14Dec 17UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb10Very high
Mar10Extreme
Apr9Very high
May11Extreme
Jun14Extreme
Jul13Extreme
Aug14Extreme
Sep10Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov8Very high
Dec7High

Average hourly UV index in Xam Nua

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in August the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan6.53.5
Feb74.5
Mar7.55
Apr7.55
May8.56
Jun97
Jul8.56.5
Aug8.56.5
Sep7.55.5
Oct75
Nov6.53.5
Dec62.5

Air quality in Xam Nua by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Xam Nua is worst in April — around 288 µg/m³ PM2.5 (very unhealthy), about 35.5× the cleanest month (August, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0306090120150180210240270JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateUnhealthyVery unhealthyUnhealthyGoodModerateApr 15263 µg/m³Aug 128 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan20Moderate
Feb28Moderate
Mar98Unhealthy
Apr288Very unhealthy
May64Unhealthy
Jun14Moderate
Jul9Good
Aug8Good
Sep11Good
Oct15Moderate
Nov15Moderate
Dec19Moderate
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Xam Nua is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Xam Nua banks about 3,880 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around June.

01,0002,0003,0004,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan157
Feb194
Mar307
Apr366
May429
Jun442
Jul442
Aug428
Sep386
Oct332
Nov240
Dec158

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Xam Nua receives about 4.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.2 and 5.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.6 months, from around Feb 18 to Sep 6. The brightest month is April, averaging about 5.3 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.3 kWh/m² — roughly 37% less than the April peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseApr 245.4 kWhDec 63.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.4Moderate
Feb4.2Bright
Mar5.0Bright
Apr5.3Bright
May5.2Bright
Jun4.8Bright
Jul4.5Bright
Aug4.4Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct3.9Moderate
Nov3.6Moderate
Dec3.3Moderate

Where is Xam Nua?

Xam Nua sits at 20.4°N, 104.0°E, 957 m above sea level, in Laos. The nearest listed city is Vieng Xai, 19 km away.

Sơn LaBản Na HỷThị Trấn Thuận ChâuÍt OngMuang PhônsavanNghĩa LộHòa Bình

Topography around Xam Nua

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Xam Nua.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Xam Nua has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 373 m around an average of 1,033 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,118 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,963 m.

The land around Xam Nua is covered by trees (65%) within 3 km, trees (83%) within 16 km, and trees (82%) within 80 km.

3 km
373 m
16 km
1,118 m
80 km
1,963 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Nearby: Vieng Xai 19 km · Sơn La 102 km · Bản Na Hỷ 108 km · Thị Trấn Thuận Châu 119 km · Ít Ong 122 km · Muang Phônsavan 140 km · Nghĩa Lộ 140 km · Hòa Bình 142 km

Laos travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / B / C / E / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 23% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$2,325
2025
Happiness
5.5 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
35%
of population, 2024
Road deaths
17.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Lower middle
World Bank
English
Low
EF EPI 461
Religion
Buddhist 65%none 31%other/not stated 2%Christian 2%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Xam Nua (20.4164°, 104.045°, elevation 957 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).