Moc Chau Plateau has a temperature climate with cool temperatures all year round: the dry season from December through April and the rainy season from May through November. During the rainy season, Moc Chau may be affected by tropical depressions or typhoon. The temperatures are cold from November through March which may reach below freezing point.
The plateau of Moc Chau has the averaged altitude of 1,050m above sea level. The plateau has the Da River to the north, east and southeast; the Ma River to the South. There is a series of mountain peaks to the west of Moc Chau ranging from over 1,000m to 2,000 above sea level.
Moc Chau is influenced by the Northeasterly wind in the winter and two monsoons in the summer: the southeasterly and, to a lesser degree, the southwesterly. The southeasterly wind is moist and cool from the sea and this wind is blocked by the high mountains to the west of Moc Chau which helps to accumulate clouds and create rains.
On the other side, the southwesterly wind is dry and warm from Laos. Because of high mountain peaks to the west of Moc Chau that the southwesterly wind has less influence than the southeasterly wind. This wind helps to make the air dry and pleasant while it is not enough to make the temperatures warm. These two winds combined with the high altitudes of the plateau make the climate and weather in Moc Chau very pleasant in the summer: nice temperatures, windy, low humidity, mild and pleasant sunshine.
It rains fairly in Moc Chau with annual averaged rainfall of 1,500mm (while it is 1,500-2,000mm in Vietnam). Most rainfalls are in the summer only and it is fairly dry or with light drizzles only in the winter. In the summer Moc Chau may be affected badly by tropical depressions or typhoons which normally come southeast to northwest and blocked by the mountain range to the west of Moc Chau: torrential rains, flash floods, landslides. There are often fog and frosts in the winter.
Moc Chau’s weather by month
- January: Relatively dry, 6-24oC but mostly 11-20oC.
- February: cold and relatively dry, 14-20oC
- March: mostly cold and dry, 18-22oC
- April: mostly dry, some possible rains, 20-24oC
- May: Rains and thunderstorms often, 20-27oC mostly.
- June: Rains and thunderstorms often, 22-28oC mostly.
- July: Sun, clouds, rains and thunderstorms often, 22-26oC mostly.
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
Moc Chau Plateau on a winter day - numb cold and dry
The best time to visit Moc Chau
The best time to visit Moc Chau is all year round: people go to Moc Chau in the summer to escape the intense heat in the Red River Delta while they go to Moc Chau in the winter to watch flowers: lots of flowers in Moc Chau in October-November and January-February.
In November-December it is dry, windy and cold in Moc Chau and it is best for mountain climbing, trekking or cycling amid the valleys, the tea plantations and the ethnic villages. At Moc Chau you can go on either relaxing cycling trips or thrilling mountain biking adventures, it is just the routes you choose.
