Andaman Sea - Hydrology and Climate

Hydrology and Climate

The climate and water salinity of the Andaman Sea are mostly determined by the monsoons of southeast Asia. Air temperature is stable over the year at 26 °C in February and 27 °C in August. Precipitation is as high as 3,000 mm/year and mostly occurs in summer. Sea currents are south-easterly and easterly in winter and south-westerly and westerly in summer. The average surface water temperature is 26–28 °C in February and 29 °C in May. The water temperature is constant at 4.8 °C at the depths of 1,600 m and below. Salinity is 31.5–32.5‰ (parts per thousand) in summer and 30.0–33.0‰ in winter in the southern part. In the northern part, it decreases to 20–25‰ due to the inflow of fresh water from the Irrawaddy River. Tides are semidiurnal (i.e. rising twice a day) with the amplitude of up to 7.2 meters.