Indochina, which includes Vietnam, Laos and Kampuchea (formerly Cambodia), is a varied land with highlands and populous lowlands. Indochina has a tropical monsoon climate with a dry season during the northeast monsoon (October to April) and a wet season during the summer southwest monsoon season (May to September).

Uncomfortably warm and muggy weather characterizes the wet season. In the north, from Laos across the northern and central parts of Vietnam, cooler temperatures come with the northeast monsoon. Snow may even fall in the highest elevations in northern Vietnam in winter. The lowlands (including the Red River and Mekong River delta regions) of the south (Kampuchea and Vietnam) are sheltered from the cold and tend to remain warm or even hot in the dry season.

Precipitation tends to occur during the southwest monsoon. It is enhanced in the fall by heavy rain from typhoons from the western Pacific. The northeast coast of Vietnam may also see clouds, occasional rain and drizzle with the northeast monsoon, but precipitation amounts tend to be much lower than those in the summer and fall.

HANOI, VIETNAM