The North will have about a week of warm sunshine before celebrating Lunar New Year.

The cold will last for many days to come.

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, currently (January 25), cold air has affected the Northern and Central regions; in the mountainous areas of the North, some places have experienced frost. The northern area of ​​the East Sea has strong northeast winds of level 7.

It is forecasted that on the day and night of January 25, strong cold air will continue to affect the Northern and Central regions. The Northeast wind inland will be strong at level 3, coastal areas at level 4-5, gusting at level 7-8. On the day and night of January 25, the Northern and North Central regions will be extremely cold, the Central Central region will be cold, with some places experiencing severe cold.

Detailed forecast:

The widespread cold spell in the North may last until January 29, and in the North Central region until around January 28. During this widespread cold spell, snow and ice may occur in mountainous areas. Strong winds and large waves at sea may affect the operation of ships and other activities. The severe cold spell may affect livestock and poultry; and greatly affect the growth and development of crops.

Causes of prolonged cold weather

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy, an expert on climate change and natural disaster warning, said that it is highly likely that the period from January 30 to February 6 (December 21-27 of the lunar calendar) will be sunny and warm in most regions. It is likely that from February 7, a cold air mass will move down to the North, causing cold and rainy weather. However, because the forecast is still far away, the accuracy is not high, this cold air mass will be updated by the meteorological agency in the coming days. Thus, from January 30 to February 6, people will have about a week of warm sunshine to do laundry and clean their houses to prepare for Tet.

According to Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Huy, the phenomenon of sudden cold weather is due to the influence of El Nino. This phenomenon occurs in El Nino years with a trend of hotter temperatures than normal. In 2024, the temperature trend is forecast to be 1.5 - 2 degrees Celsius hotter than the average of many years in the same period. In winter, El Nino years have sudden cold spells when the temperature drops, colder than the average of the same period in previous years.

Dr. Huy commented that these sudden cold spells are unusual, localized, and random in nature, occurring when cold cores form from Siberia (Russia) to the South. Although the intensity of this cold spell is strong, the wind level is weak, so the cold air affects the North and Central regions, not spreading to the South. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City and the Southern provinces will maintain warm and sunny weather until near Tet.

According to him, the fact that Ho Chi Minh City has not experienced any cold spells in the past year is also due to the influence of the typical El Nino and global warming. The unusual and extreme weather is clearly showing deep cold spells in winter and summer, with harsher temperatures.

Statistics from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show that the average global temperature is increasing. Vietnam shares this trend, but the rate of increase is 38% faster, according to data on temperature differences in the period 2006-2015 compared to the previous 20 years. Scientists warn that extreme heat increases can seriously affect agricultural production, putting many areas at risk of natural disasters that are increasing in both number and severity.