El Nino to blame for warm HCMC Christmas

For more than a few days, the southern metropolis has seen temperatures hover around 36-37 degrees Celsius, with the heat lasting all day every day.

The pattern is unusual this time of year, as HCMC weather tends to cool as Christmas (Dec. 25) approaches, with temperatures usually below 20 degrees at night and in early morning.

Statistics from the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center revealed that temperatures in localities throughout southern Vietnam have been higher than usual this month, averaging around 34-35 degrees.

HCMC in particular recorded temperatures of around 36 degrees. Temperatures were the highest recorded in the city and other localities for the past decade.

Le Dinh Quyet, deputy head of the forecasting department of the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center, said that annual masses of cold air from the north usually affect southern Vietnam, plunging temperatures down at night and in the early morning.

However, this year, the masses of cold air have had little effect on the south, he said.

Vietnam is also under the impacts of the El Nino phenomenon, driving temperatures higher. High-pressure areas off the Pacific make it more difficult for clouds to form, meaning sunlight finds it easier to reach the ground and temperatures rise, Quyet added.

“Sunny days with temperatures at 32-33 degrees in the city will last through Christmas before subsiding,” he said.

Nguyen Ngoc Huy, a weather expert, also pointed out that part of the change was that the regular masses of cold air in the north have been active for shorter periods of time than usual, only 2-3 days on average, not their normal near-week-long durations. This has been caused by El Nino weather patterns and global warming, he said.

“On the last two days of 2023, HCMC is expected to see temperatures drop to 20 degrees due to the effects of cold air from the north,” Huy said, adding that when El Nino began in early June, it first made temperatures on Vietnam’s sunny summer days higher than average temperatures seen in previous years.