Laos - Weather in February

Vientiane and Luang Prabang experience pleasant, moderate temperatures (avg temp: 24°C) during February. Whilst in Pakse and the 4000 islands in southern Laos, it is slightly warmer and highs of 30°C are not uncommon.

If you plan to travel to the north of the country, dry days and (relatively) cool temperatures make February an ideal month for trekking in Luang Namtha, Muang La and Phongsali, although temperatures can drop at night and suitable warm clothing is recommended.

On the Mekong River and its tributaries it can still be chilly at night and in the early mornings so warm clothing is advisable.

Slash & burn, the farming technique deployed through much of Asia, can cause increased haze levels during February, especially in the valleys.

Mekong River Levels

In recent years water levels on certain stretches of the Mekong River have reached record lows in February & March. This is not simply due to lower rainfall and global warming, but because of eight new Chinese ‘super-dams’ stemming the water flow to ensure a plentiful water supply to regions of China outside the Mekong River’s natural basin.

The result of this damming is that the river's fish stocks are declining dramatically in the lower Mekong countries, with other wildlife expected to become quickly over-hunted as a result. At this time a typically disappointing amount of international pressure is being applied to China to exercise more stringent control on their damming procedure to ensure the countries of the lower Mekong receive acceptable levels of water.