All three regions of the country, especially localities in the central region from Thanh Hoa to Phu Yen, are anticipated to experience extreme heat, said Nguyen Duc Hoa, deputy head of Department of Climatic Forecast under the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The intense heat will bake the localities in the first 20 days of May, with temperatures likely to be 1.5 - 2.5 degrees Celsius higher than the average of previous years’ corresponding period, said Hoa.

He warned that there would be a high risk of prolonged droughts, water shortages and fire and explosion across the country.

Due to the prolonged heat waves, droughts in the central, Central Highlands and southern regions will be more severe before decreasing in intensity in the last 10 days of May when this year’s monsoon sets in and brings more rain to the region.

Rai is forecast to fall more in north-eastern localities but less in western localities, said the meteorologist.

The ongoing heat wave has gripped localities nationwide for the past few days, with daytime temperatures rising to 40 degrees Celsius. Several localities in the northern and central regions even recorded high temperatures of 42 to 45 degrees.

A weak cold air wave is spreading across the northern region, helping to break the heat that has grabbed local headlines for the past few days.  

As of May 4, the hot weather is likely to return to northern and north-central localities while it will decrease in intensity in Central Highlands and southern localities, according to the meteorologist.

VOV