Overview · Whole province
Climate of Khanh Hoa
Khí hậu Khánh Hòa
Khánh Hòa lies in the tropical savanna zone but, according to Vietnamese Wikipedia, is more moderate than provinces further north or south because of its oceanic exposure, with two seasons rather than four: a long dry season from around January to August and a short, sharp rainy season from mid-September to mid-December, when October and November alone bring more than half the year's rain[1]. Average annual sunshine is about 2,600 hours and mean annual temperature around 26.7 degrees Celsius, cooler on the Hòn Bà massif, 30 km from Nha Trang, which Vietnamese Wikipedia compares to the hill station of Đà Lạt[1].
The former Ninh Thuận, in the province's south since 2025, is markedly drier: Vietnamese Wikipedia describes its climate as tropical savanna shading into semi-arid, with average annual rainfall of only 700 to 800 mm, among the lowest in Vietnam, and a shorter rainy season from September to November[2]. English Wikipedia's climate normals for Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm, covering 1993 to 2020, put the city among the least rainy in the country and the driest in South East Asia outside Myanmar's Dry Zone[3].
Two seasons on the coast
On the coast around Nha Trang and Cam Ranh, Vietnamese Wikipedia describes a climate with only two real seasons: a long dry season from around January to August, and a short rainy season concentrated in September to December, when temperatures on the coast run from about 20 to 27 degrees Celsius, cooler than the 34 to 38 degree highs of the preceding hot months[1]. Relative humidity averages about 80.5 percent, and the province is comparatively sheltered from typhoons, struck by an average of only about 0.82 storms a year against a national coastal average of 3.74, though storms that do arrive can still bring flooding because the province's short, steep rivers rise quickly while storm surge blocks the water's escape to sea[1].
Nha Trang by month
Vietnamese Wikipedia gives the following monthly figures for Nha Trang, citing MSN Weather; they show the clear split between a hot, dry first half of the year and a cooler, wet final quarter[1].
| Month | Mean high (°C) | Mean low (°C) | Rainfall (cm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27[1] | 22[1] | 2.4[1] |
| February | 28[1] | 22[1] | 0.56[1] |
| March | 29[1] | 23[1] | 2.07[1] |
| April | 31[1] | 25[1] | 1.98[1] |
| May | 32[1] | 26[1] | 5.08[1] |
| June | 32[1] | 26[1] | 3.48[1] |
| July | 32[1] | 26[1] | 2.62[1] |
| August | 32[1] | 26[1] | 3.23[1] |
| September | 32[1] | 25[1] | 13.38[1] |
| October | 30[1] | 24[1] | 25.43[1] |
| November | 28[1] | 24[1] | 25.12[1] |
| December | 27[1] | 22[1] | 12.21[1] |
Cam Ranh and Phan Rang-Thap Cham
English Wikipedia's climate normals for Cam Ranh give an annual mean temperature of 27.2 degrees Celsius, ranging from a January mean of 24.5 to a June mean of 29.1, with annual rainfall of 1,324.5 mm falling on about 105.9 days a year and 2,640.9 hours of sunshine, sourced to the Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology[4]. Further south, Phan Rang-Tháp Chàm is both drier and sunnier: its 1993 to 2020 normals give 838.5 mm of rain a year against 3,029 hours of sunshine, and, sourced to the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration, a figure of 35.3 degrees Celsius entered as a record high for October; it is the only record high the table carries, every other month being blank, and at 8.1 degrees above the same table's October daily mean of 27.2 it cannot be an all-time station record, so it is reproduced here as published rather than as a maximum ever recorded[3].
| Month | Mean high (°C) | Mean (°C) | Mean low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28.3[4] | 24.5[4] | 21.9[4] | 24.4[4] |
| February | 29.6[4] | 25.1[4] | 22.1[4] | 10.0[4] |
| March | 31.0[4] | 26.4[4] | 23.3[4] | 38.0[4] |
| April | 32.4[4] | 28.1[4] | 24.8[4] | 35.3[4] |
| May | 33.4[4] | 29.0[4] | 25.7[4] | 89.4[4] |
| June | 33.5[4] | 29.1[4] | 25.8[4] | 68.2[4] |
| July | 33.4[4] | 28.8[4] | 25.5[4] | 53.9[4] |
| August | 33.7[4] | 28.9[4] | 25.6[4] | 56.2[4] |
| September | 32.4[4] | 28.0[4] | 24.9[4] | 167.1[4] |
| October | 30.6[4] | 26.8[4] | 24.2[4] | 248.8[4] |
| November | 29.2[4] | 26.0[4] | 23.6[4] | 319.6[4] |
| December | 28.0[4] | 24.9[4] | 22.7[4] | 164.9[4] |
Typhoons and storms
Typhoon Damrey made landfall in Vạn Ninh district on 4 November 2017 with gusts recorded at 33 metres per second (118 km/h) in Nha Trang and 34 metres per second (122 km/h) in Ninh Hòa; the provincial government reported 44 deaths and one person missing in Khánh Hòa, 229 injured, 2,817 houses destroyed and more than 16,000 damaged, with an estimated economic loss of over 15.5 trillion VND (about 696 million USD)[5]. About 30,000 residents and tourists were evacuated from Nha Trang as the storm approached[5]. Damrey remains the most severe storm on record for the former Khánh Hòa in the period covered by this article's sources, though the province's low average storm frequency means such direct hits are infrequent[1][5].
Questions and answers
What is the rainiest time of year in Khanh Hoa?
Mid-September to mid-December, when October and November alone bring more than half the year's rainfall on the coast around Nha Trang[1].
Which is drier, Nha Trang or Phan Rang?
What was the worst storm to hit Khanh Hoa in recent years?
Typhoon Damrey, which made landfall in Vạn Ninh district on 4 November 2017 and killed 44 people in the province, with economic losses of more than 15.5 trillion VND[5].
Sources
Every figure in this article is cited to one of these pages, listed in order of first use, with the date it was read.
See also
- Khanh HoaProvince
- Typhoon Damrey (2017)Event
- Nha TrangFormer city
- Phan Rang-Thap ChamFormer city
- Cam RanhFormer city
- Administrative divisions of Khanh HoaOverview