In an interview with DTiNews, Deputy Director of the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Le Thanh Hai said that the northern region of Vietnam would have a warmer winter which will arrive late this year.

Vietnam will have a warmer and shorter winter 

Could you tell us more about this weather forecast, is there any abnormalities?

Actually, the cold atmosphere has affected the northern region since mid-September. On September 13-14, a cold spell covered northern regions, north central regions and the Central Highlands. Rains have occurred along with a drop of 3-5 degrees in temperature.

However, the typical cold spells in the north with average temperatures dropping below 13-15 Celsius degrees and last for at least three days will come late, maybe by the end of this year. The winter in northern regions and other regions this year will warmer than normal.

Last year, the lack of water during the dry season adversely affected farmers. Will this situation be repeated again?

By the end of September the water level at various rivers in northern regions was lower than normal. For example, the water level upstream on the Red River was 10-20% lower than usual so we need to prepared for a shortage of water and droughts in some localities, especially in mountainous areas.

In terms of the Red River Delta, the drought will be less obvious since the reservoirs have collected a good amount of water during rainy season. The water levels at many hydropower reservoirs are also higher than the same time last year.

The central highlands, southern regions and coastal areas need to prepare for flash floods and landslides which often occur from October to December.

Which regions should take the most precautions?

Storms have been unpredictable this year. The storms in the East Sea happened earlier than most years. A first tropical depression appeared in February and in early April and the first storms have already affected the south central coastal, Central Highlands and southern regions.

The rainy season also started earlier and has caused floods and heavy damage in Son La, Dien Bien, Tuyen Quang and Lao Cai provinces.

We think that there will be at least one or two storms from now until the end of the year which will mostly affect the central and southern regions.