Bangkok
Bangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population of 9.1 million people as of 2024, 15.9% of the country's population. Over 17.4 million people (25% of Thailand's population) live within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region as of the 2021 estimate, making Bangkok a megacity and an extreme primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in both size and importance to the national economy.
Typical weather
1981–presentCity Rhythm
measuredOpening hours, by kind of place
median across mapped venuesVital absurdities
measured · the Anti-AwardsSame time system
by rhythmWhat to do each season
3cool
mild-dry 'cool' season (NE monsoon); mean 24.6-28.9 °C; precip 0.2-1.5 mm/day; December mean min 20.3 °C — the mildest period; the high tourist season
- the Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), Wat Arun, Wat Pho at full visitor flow — the cool season is peak tourism
- Bangkok's Christmas-and-New-Year retail economy activates (a secular-Thai civic ritual)
- the Chao Phraya Express Boat and the khlong (canal) boats at comfortable outdoor-use temperature
- the night markets (Patpong, Asiatique, Jodd Fairs) at peak evening comfort
hot
hot, pre-monsoon dry season; mean 28.9-30.9 °C; April mean max 37.3 °C — the hottest month; precip 1.2-5.5 mm/day (rising); urban heat island adds 2.5 °C day / 8 °C night; record 41 °C (May 2023)
- Songkran (13-15 April) — the Thai New Year water-throwing festival; the city's largest annual civic ritual
- the Chao Phraya river level at its lowest; smog accumulates before the rains break
- outdoor activity contracts to early morning and evening; the shopping-mall-and-Skytrain air-conditioned parallel-city at maximum daytime use
- the Royal Ploughing Ceremony (May) marks the start of the rice-growing season
rainy
hot, humid, very wet (SW monsoon); mean 26.8-28.4 °C; precip 5.1-9.3 mm/day; September wettest at 9.3 mm/day; flash flooding is a recurring risk in low-lying districts (the city is 1.5 m above sea level and subsiding)
- the Chao Phraya rises; the khlong (canal) system and flood-control infrastructure at maximum use
- the Queen's Birthday / Mother's Day (12 August) and the King's Memorial civic cycle
- vegetarian-festival season (September-October, variable) in Yaowarat (Chinatown) — the Tesagan Gin Jay
- Bangkok's flooding risk — the 2011 floods were the worst in 50 years and inundated parts of the metropolitan area
What it is known for
Important moments in a year
Songkran
- Thai New Year water-throwing festival — the city's largest annual civic ritual
- citywide water fights
- the ceremonial washing of Buddha images
Loy Krathong
- floating banana-leaf krathongs on the Chao Phraya and khlongs
- the city's most visually defining night
Royal Ploughing Ceremony
- the Brahmin ceremony marking the rice-planting season
- civic ritual at Sanam Luang
Vegetarian Festival
- Tesagan Gin Jay — the Chinese-Thai vegetarian festival
- Yaowarat (Chinatown) activates with yellow-flag food stalls
On the record
source-trackedBangkok, known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand.
Over 17.4 million people (25% of Thailand's population) live within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region as of the 2021 estimate, making Bangkok a megacity and an extreme primate city.
Bangkok traces its roots to a small trading post during the Ayutthaya era in the 15th century, which eventually grew and became the site of two capital cities, Thonburi in 1767 and Rattanakosin in 1782.
Like most of Thailand, Bangkok has a tropical savanna climate (Aw) under the Köppen climate classification and is under the influence of the Asian monsoon system. The city experiences three seasons: hot, rainy, and cool.
The rainy season begins with the arrival of the southwest monsoon around mid-May. September is the wettest month, with an average rainfall of 335.9 millimetres (13.22 in).
The surface magnitude of Bangkok's urban heat island has been measured at 2.5 °C (4.5 °F) during the day and 8.0 °C (14 °F) at night.
A distinct feature of Bangkok is the ubiquity of street vendors selling goods ranging from food items to clothing and accessories. It has been estimated that the city may have over 100,000 hawkers.
Although they take up pavement space and block pedestrian traffic, many of the city's residents depend on these vendors for their meals, and the BMA's efforts to curb their numbers have largely been unsuccessful.
Of 162 cities worldwide, MasterCard ranked Bangkok as the top destination city by international visitor arrivals in its Global Destination Cities Index 2018, ahead of London, with just over 20 million overnight visitors in 2017.
Although Bangkok's canals historically served as a major mode of transport, they have long since been surpassed in importance by land traffic.
It was only in 1999 that Bangkok's first rapid transit system began operation.
Older public transport systems include an extensive bus network and boat services, which still operate on the Chao Phraya and two canals.
The method behind this atlas — 196 pp. Not published yet.