If you’ve enjoyed Saigon’s “wintry” mornings this past week, there’s more to come.
As Tuoi Tre reports, the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Station confirmed that today, December 2, many southern provinces recorded the lowest temperature readings of the year. Across the Southeast Region, Ta Lai in Dong Nai was the coldest, at 18°C, followed by Long Khanh (19.7°C), Dong Xoai in Binh Phuoc (20°C) and Nha Be in Ho Chi Minh City (22.4°C).
“This [cool weather] is due to a reinforcing cold front over the southern region,” explains Lê Đình Quyết, deputy head of the station’s forecasting department. “It’s a common weather pattern in the region at the end of the year. Each cold spell will last three to four days, the temperature will rise again, and another spell will start.”
He added that a few similar cold spells will affect southern provinces from now until Christmas, though mercury levels won’t drop lower than today. Moreover, precipitation will noticeably decrease and days will be cloudy without intense sunlight.
Similar cold fronts will also descend upon northern and north-central provinces from December 1 to 10, when dry, chilly days will be followed by frigid nights. Mountainous regions will experience morning frost and near-zero temperatures. The national meteorological agency estimates that the national average temperature in this period will be 0.5°C lower than the same period of previous years.
While this year’s storm season has been less devastating than before, particularly last year, the last week of November saw the central coast take a beating, with heavy rain causing major flooding. These days of extreme weather have killed 18 people, 10 in Phu Yen Province alone, and damaged 1,492 hectares of crops.
