Temperatures in the north rose slightly on Monday, the second day the region was hit by a strong cold front. Only eight localities experienced temperatures below 10 degrees on Monday, compared to 10 localities on Sunday. The coldest place was Sa Pa, a border town in Lao Cai province, at 5 degrees, followed by Mau Son in Lang Son at 7 degrees, then Dong Van in Ha Giang and Ngan Son in Bac Kan at 8 degrees.
In Hanoi, weather stations recorded temperatures of 12 to 13 degrees, 1 to 2 degrees warmer than Sunday morning.
But as a new cold air mass continues to arrive, temperatures are expected to drop again, first in northern Vietnam before central Vietnam, according to the National Hydrometeorological Forecast Center.
Northern Vietnam, along with the north-central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An, will experience a “severe” cold spell until Christmas, with experts predicting night and morning temperatures of 9 to 12 degrees .
Mountainous areas are expected to experience temperature extremes of 3 to 8 degrees.
However, localities in central Vietnam, from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue, will likely experience temperatures as low as 14 to 17 degrees.
Frost may occur in the Midlands and northern mountains. Starting Tuesday evening, localities from Ha Tinh to Khanh Hoa will experience rainfall of up to 100 mm over the next 24 hours.
The US weather forecast service AccuWeather recorded temperatures in Hanoi of 14-18 degrees on Monday, and predicted they would drop to 13-16 degrees on Tuesday. In the following days, daytime temperatures will remain below 20 degrees, while nighttime temperatures are expected to hover around 10 to 11 degrees. On Christmas Eve, temperatures in the capital are expected to drop to 9 degrees, with daytime temperatures at 14 degrees.
High altitude places like Sa Pa will see temperatures drop between 4 and 10 degrees on Wednesday, the days after recording daytime temperatures of 8 degrees and nighttime temperatures of 3 degrees, the US site said.
