Samtse sits in Bhutan’s southern foothills near the Indian border, where a subtropical climate brings the country’s heaviest rainfall, driven by the same summer monsoon that floods the plains of neighboring India.
In southwestern Bhutan near the Indian border, the town’s subtropical climate and foothill terrain give it some of the country’s heaviest rainfall. Because the foothills sit right where monsoon-laden air from the Indian plains first meets the rising terrain of the Himalayas, rainfall totals here are dramatically higher than in Bhutan’s interior valleys, and radar helps track the intense storms that can trigger flash flooding on the steep slopes just above the border towns. Learn more: Flash Flood Warning Signs on Radar · Open the full Rain Map