Climate[edit]The climate in Southeast Asia is mainly tropical–hot and humid all year round with plentiful rainfall (Northern Vietnam is the only major region in Southeast Asia that features a subtropical climate, which has a cold winter). Southeast Asia has a wet and dry season caused by seasonal shift in winds or monsoon. The tropical rain belt causes additional rainfall during the monsoon season. The rain forest is the second largest on earth (with the Amazon being the largest). An exception to this type of climate and vegetation is the mountain areas in the northern region, where high altitudes lead to milder temperatures and drier landscape. Other parts fall out of this climate because they are desert like.