Lai Châu in Spring

In spring (March, April and May), Lai Châu sees average daytime highs around 26°C and overnight lows near 17°C, with 464 mm of rain over about 57 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the 2nd-wettest season.

Over the season highs climb from about 22°C in early March to 28°C by late May. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels muggy.

Spring is Lai Châu's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Lai Châu's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 26°C; 2nd-warmest season
Avg overnight low: 17°C
Rainfall: 464 mm; 57 wet days
Avg wind: 4 km/h
Travel score: 5.4; 3rd-best season
Months: Mar · Apr · May

← Winter Lai Châu year-round climate Summer →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Lai Châu in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 22°C in early March to 28°C by late May.

A typical spring day in Lai Châu reaches about 26°C and drops to 17°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is May, the coolest March.

Lai Châu weather by month

How the three spring months (March, April and May) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	18° / 10°	63	10	10.8	5.9
Feb	20° / 11°	53	9.4	11.2	6.4
Mar	24° / 14°	106	13.8	11.8	6.5
Apr	26° / 17°	136	18.7	12.5	5.4
May	27° / 20°	222	24.4	13.1	4.3
Jun	28° / 21°	325	28.5	13.3	3.4
Jul	27° / 22°	389	29.5	13.2	3.4
Aug	28° / 21°	371	28.7	12.8	3.5
Sep	27° / 20°	201	22.2	12.1	4.5
Oct	25° / 18°	96	15	11.5	6.0
Nov	22° / 14°	50	8.7	10.9	6.9
Dec	19° / 11°	49	7.4	10.7	6.5

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across spring.

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitation

Lai Châu gets around 464 mm of rain over 57 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of spring feels muggy — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

Wind in Spring

Winds average 4 km/h across spring.

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 30 min in early March to 13 h 18 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 4.8 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in spring

Hazard calendar for Lai Châu

In seasonPeak

In spring, Lai Châu overlaps its monsoon season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Lai Châu'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

Is spring a good time to visit Lai Châu?

Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

5.4

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

5.0

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

spring is a reasonable time to visit Lai Châu for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lai Châu in Spring

From spring's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In spring, Lai Châu sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 17°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 57 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

UV index in Lai Châu in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lai Châu peaks around June 19 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 5 (high).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	7	9	11	9	11	14	13	12	10	9	8	5
Level	High	Very high	Extreme	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	Very high	High

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	7	High
Feb	9	Very high
Mar	11	Extreme
Apr	9	Very high
May	11	Extreme
Jun	14	Extreme
Jul	13	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	10	Very high
Oct	9	Very high
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	5	High

Air quality in Lai Châu in Spring

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where spring falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Lai Châu is worst in April — around 70 µg/m³ PM2.5 (unhealthy), about 5.0× the cleanest month (July, 14 µg/m³).

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

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	25	33	54	70	28	15	14	15	18	22	23	25
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Poor	Unhealthy	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	25	Moderate
Feb	33	Moderate
Mar	54	Poor
Apr	70	Unhealthy
May	28	Moderate
Jun	15	Moderate
Jul	14	Moderate
Aug	15	Moderate
Sep	18	Moderate
Oct	22	Moderate
Nov	23	Moderate
Dec	25	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Lai Châu?

Lai Châu sits at 22.4°N, 103.5°E, 919 m above sea level, in Vietnam. The nearest listed city is Sapa, 40 km away.

Topography around Lai Châu

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lai Châu has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 544 m around an average of 1,001 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,836 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,035 m.

The land around Lai Châu is covered by trees (43%) and grassland (32%) within 3 km, trees (74%) within 16 km, and trees (85%) within 80 km.

3 km

544 m

trees 43%

16 km

2,836 m

trees 74%

80 km

3,035 m

trees 85%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater

← Winter Lai Châu year-round climate Summer →

Spring weather nearby: Sapa 40 km · Lào Cai 54 km · Mường Lay 55 km · Thị Trấn Phố Lu 75 km · Thị Trấn Thuận Châu 109 km · Ít Ong 114 km · Dien Bien Phu 121 km · Sơn La 128 km

Vietnam travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 1; Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs: Type A / B / C / F; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 29% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $5,066; 2025
Happiness: 6.4 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 59%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.5; per 100k, 2011
Road deaths: 30.6; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Moderate; EF EPI 500
Religion

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 Lai Châu (22.3964°, 103.4582°, elevation 919 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.