The scorching sun and high temperatures have brought both uncomfortable weather and risks of fire for the residents of HCM City.

Vehicles stop in the shade to wait for green light

Temperatures in HCM City has been upwards of 38 Celsius for this week and will continue in the range of 36-38 Celsius. The Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting has said the region is at the peak of dry season and predicted the hot and dry air will spread to the southeast in next few days.

Scorching sun in HCMC

Hoang Minh Giam, head of the centre, said the outdoor temperatures could rise to 40 Celsius, especially in April and May.

People have been flocking to pools, cafes and supermarkets to get away from the heat. 

Two women buying sugarcane juice

In addition, the weather, along with some careless individuals, has also brought fires. On March 17, buildings on Nguyen Xien Street were burning offerings when the ashes were carried by the wind to a nearby field, where fire broke out immediately, approaching the sawdust-filled warehouse of a furniture company. It took one hour to extinguish the fire, but luckily, no one was injured.

The previous day another fire broke out in a field when a man tried to burn electrical cords in order to collect the copper inside. 1,000 square metres of grass was burnt down and the fire almost reached a nearby wood company.

On March 13, four hectares of melaleuca forest were destroyed when another fire broke out in Binh Chanh District, despite efforts of hundreds of firefighters from neighbouring districts. The vice chairmen of the district People's Committee, Nguyen Van Truong, said the area destroyed was a local's agricultural land, and the fire may have been caused by human error.

4 hectares of forest burnt down

Meanwhile, two hectares of sugarcane in Binh Chanh District were also destroyed after a two-hour fire. 

Previously, on March 4, hundreds of people in Tan Phu District had to escape after their houses were overcome by thick smoke from the burning grassland.

Smoke from the fire 

One local said, "At first, I thought that someone was just burning their trash. When the smoke became thicker and made it hard to breath, I had to close all the windows and rush my children out. Many other people had to do the same."