Northern Vietnam braces for season’s strongest cold spell, heavy rain expected in central region

Forecasters said a strong cold front is likely to affect northern Vietnam between Sunday and Monday, causing temperatures to drop significantly and bringing showers and thunderstorms across the region.

Minimum temperatures in the northern and north-central regions are forecast to range between 16 and 19 degrees Celsius, while mountainous areas could see temperatures fall below 13 degrees Celsius.

From Monday next week, mountainous areas are expected to turn cold, while lowland areas of northern Vietnam will experience cool conditions during the day and colder weather at night and in the early morning.

In Hanoi, temperatures are forecast to range from 17 to 19 degrees Celsius at night and 23 to 26 degrees Celsius during the day.

Meanwhile, a combination of the strong low-level cold air mass, upper-level easterly wind disturbances and local terrain could bring widespread heavy rain to central Vietnam from around November 9 to 12.

The affected areas are expected to include the region stretching from Thanh Hoa Province to Da Nang, as well as the eastern parts of provinces from Quang Ngai to Dak Lak.

Before the stronger cold air mass arrives, a weaker spell is forecast to affect northern Vietnam from Thursday night through Friday, bringing scattered showers and thunderstorms, with only a slight drop in temperatures.

This year's weather pattern has been heavily influenced by a strong El Nino event.

Since September, northern Vietnam has experienced only two weak cold spells, neither of which produced significant cooling.

As a result, rainfall has remained below normal while long periods of sunshine have persisted, creating unusually warm and humid conditions well into early November.

Despite the arrival of the traditional Start of Winter solar term on November 7, residents of Hanoi and surrounding provinces have yet to experience the cool autumn temperatures that typically characterize this period.

The agency said El Nino is expected to weaken cold-air activity during the 2026-27 winter season.

Severe cold spells are likely to arrive later than usual, and the overall number of days with severe or damaging cold conditions across northern and north-central Vietnam is expected to remain lower than average.

However, forecasters cautioned that short-lived but intense cold spells could still occur and cause abrupt temperature drops.

Toward the end of winter, northern Vietnam is also likely to experience fewer days of light rain and drizzle than in previous years.

Average temperatures during the winter months are forecast to be 0.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above the long-term average.