This afternoon, March 25, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that it is forecast that from about March 30 - April 2, the Northwest region and from Thanh Hoa to Hue city are likely to experience a widespread heat wave, with intense heat in some places with the highest daily temperature commonly 35 - 37 degrees C, locally over 38 degrees C.
From about March 30 - 31, the Northern Delta region is likely to experience widespread hot weather with the highest daily temperature commonly 35 - 36 degrees C, locally in some places above 36 degrees C.
The meteorological agency assessed that this is the first heat wave in 2026 in the above areas, coming earlier than the average multi-year statistics. Warning level of natural disaster risk due to heat is level 1.
Due to the influence of hot weather combined with reduced humidity in the air, there is a risk of fires and explosions in residential areas due to increased electricity demand and the risk of forest fires. Hot weather can also cause dehydration, exhaustion, and heat stroke for the human body when exposed to high temperatures for a long time.
Mr. Nguyen Van Huong - Head of Weather Forecast Department, National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that in the context of global temperatures still maintaining at record highs, according to the World Meteorological Organization's warning, 2026 is likely to continue to be in the group of hottest years since the observation data was available.
When ENSO leans towards the hot phase from the second half of the year, monsoon winds in the Pacific Ocean tend to weaken, convection distribution changes, increasing the probability of prolonged and more extreme heat waves appearing in tropical areas, including Vietnam.
At the same time, rain in some Southeast Asian regions, especially in the south of our country at the end of the year, may be lower than the multi-year average.
For Vietnam, in the context of ENSO phase transition and hot tilt along with the impact of climate change, summer heat in 2026 is forecast to be more prolonged and increase in intensity compared to the multi-year average, even more intense than in 2025" - Mr. Huong added.
According to the Head of the Weather Forecast Department, from April 2026, hot weather will increase in intensity and expand the operating area.
From the end of May 2026, hot weather will gradually expand to the entire Northern and Central regions, intensity will increase sharply and maintain peak periods in June - August 2026. From around September 2026, hot weather will tend to gradually decrease but there may still be unusually late hot spells" - Mr. Huong said.
Mr. Huong said that, overall, extreme heat is no longer a strange phenomenon but is becoming an increasingly clear characteristic in the context of climate change and ENSO shifting to a hot phase.
