Southern Vietnam likely enters rainy season as southwest monsoon arrives

Ta Thi Hong An of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said the southern region, including Ho Chi Minh City, has experienced persistent heat since April with little widespread rainfall, suggesting the rainy season arrived later than usual this yea.

The weakening of the western low-pressure heat zone and subtropical high-pressure system, combined with the return of southwest monsoon winds, would increase rainfall across the Central Highlands and southern Vietnam in the coming days.

“However, the heatwave in southern Vietnam is forecast to end soon as the southwest monsoon begins from today, bringing increased thunderstorms to the Central Highlands and southern regions and likely marking the start of the rainy season in the south,” An said.

Before thunderstorms arrive later on Saturday afternoon and evening, parts of southern Vietnam were still expected to experience localized heat, with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius in some areas. 

Forecasters said the hot weather is expected to end in these regions from Saturday.

According to the southern hydro-meteorological station, rainfall intensified across southern provinces on Friday, with precipitation reaching 93 mm at Ta Lai station in Dong Nai Province and 54 mm in Binh Thang Ward of Ho Chi Minh City.

Temperatures in northern and central Vietnam were also expected to ease over the weekend, with highs mostly ranging between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius on Saturday before heat conditions end in the north from Sunday and weaken significantly in central provinces.

Forecasters said scattered showers and thunderstorms would affect northern Vietnam through May 22, with some areas expected to receive heavy to very heavy rain, particularly in the northwestern regions between May 19 and 21.

Central Vietnam was forecast to see scattered thunderstorms from Saturday to May 20, mainly in the late afternoon and evening, while authorities warned of risks including tornadoes, lightning, hail, and strong winds during the seasonal transition period.

The national meteorological agency also forecast that heatwaves could return to central Vietnam from around May 21 and expand into northern Vietnam after May 23, while average nationwide temperatures in June were expected to remain 0.5 to 1 degree Celsius above long-term averages.