The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting has released an assessment of weather conditions across the country in the first months of the year and a forecast for the period through September.
According to the national meteorological agency, from the beginning of 2026 to mid-March, cold air masses continued to affect the Northern region, while heatwaves appeared early in the Southern region.
Specifically, from January to mid-March, eight cold spells affected the Northern and the North-Central regions, causing two widespread severe cold snaps. During these periods, the lowest temperatures generally ranged from 8 to 11 degrees Celsius, dropping to 5–7 degrees Celsius in mountainous areas and below 4 degrees Celsius in some high-altitude locations.
Meanwhile, heatwaves appeared early in the Southeastern region on several days in February. Meteorologists said this was the first widespread heatwave of 2026 and occurred earlier than the multi-year average.
The meteorological agency forecasts that from April to June, average temperatures nationwide will generally be close to the long-term average. However, the Northern region and the provinces from Thanh Hoa to Nghe An in April may see temperatures about 0.5 to 1 degrees Celsius higher than the average.
Notably, heatwaves are expected to intensify from April. In the coming time, hot weather will persist and strengthen in the Southeastern region before expanding to the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta.
In the northwestern and western parts of the area from Thanh Hoa to Hue, heatwaves may also appear from around April, before spreading across the Northern and Central regions from late May, with increasing intensity in the following months.
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