According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the heat in the Southern region will end in the second half of May but it is projected to spread to the Northern and Central regions lasting until August.
Vietnam has been affected by 19 out of 22 types of natural disasters, according to the assessment report regarding the natural disaster situation in 2023 and prediction for the trends of natural disasters this year that was submitted to the Conference on Disaster Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue in 2024.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment indicated that in the first months of the year, the country has constantly braced for complicated weather patterns, including eight cold waves and three widespread intense heatwaves, which have concentrated on the Southeastern region since February.
Notably, during the peak period from March until April 10, the Southern region was scorched by persistent heat.
Apart from the Southern localities, various places in the Northwestern, North- Central and Mid-Central regions experienced sweltering hot temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius from March 31 to April 4.
At that time, the Northern region still faced low precipitation leading to a lack of 30 percent to 60 percent of the water in rivers and reservoirs, reducing sharply compared to the average in previous years.
Specifically, Thao River and the Lo River basin and rivers in the Central and Central Highlands regions lacked 40 percent to 70 percent and 25 percent to 50 percent of their water reserves compared to previous years respectively.
Quoting data from the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment indicated that the saline intrusion during the dry season of 2023-2024 arrived earlier and was higher than the multi-year average, but not as severe as the dry seasons of 2015-2016 and 2019-2020.
The recent saline intrusion has caused water shortages in some coastal provinces.
Regarding the trends of natural disasters until the end of 2024, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment predicted an 85 percent chance that the ENSO phenomenon will turn to neutral conditions by June.
It is estimated that there is a 60 to 65 percent chance for a transition to La Nina neutral from July to September and lasting by the last months of the year.
The Northern and Central regions have remained dry and hot from the second half of May to July, starting earlier compared to previous years.
Heatwaves are expected to decrease gradually from the second half of August for the Northern region and from September for the Central region.
Meanwhile, heatwaves in the Southern region are forecast to last until the first half of May.
From now until the first half of June, there is little chance of storms and tropical depressions forming in the East Sea.
Beginning the second half of June, the frequency of storms and tropical low-pressure systems is likely to occur more.
About 11 to 13 storms and tropical low-pressure systems are forecast to operate in the East Sea and approximately 5 to 7 storms and tropical depressions are predicted to affect the country’s mainland.
The peak of this year's hurricane season is between September and November.
