Mr. Nguyen Duc Hoa - Deputy Head of the Climate Forecasting Department, National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting - gave noteworthy analyses of the rain trend in the Central Highlands and the South after a period of prolonged hot weather.
Sir, how do you assess the hot weather developments in the South and when will this region enter this year's rainy season?
- According to our observations, hot weather has been recorded in the Southern region appearing for many consecutive days in April and lasting until May. Hot weather is only temporarily interrupted for about 1-2 days and then reappears on a large scale, especially lasting longer in the Southeast region.
Hot weather is gradually decreasing, and rain is gradually increasing in the Southern region from about the second half of May 2026 onwards.
So, will the rainy season this year in the South and the Central Highlands come later than the average of many years, sir?
- Up to this point, it can be said that the 2026 rainy season in the Central Highlands and Southern regions comes later than the annual average.
According to multi-year average data, the rainy season in the Central Highlands region is around the last week of April, the first week of May; in the Southern region it is around the first half of May.
Sir, what is the ENSO forecast for the coming months and how will it affect this year's rainy season in the Central Highlands and Southern regions?
- The ENSO phenomenon maintains a neutral state from now until around June 2026. It is forecast that the El Nino phenomenon with moderate to strong intensity may appear in the period from June - August 2026 with a probability of about 80 - 90%, and El Nino may reach very strong intensity with a probability of about 20 - 25% in the period from October - December 2026 and is likely to continue to 2027.
With the developments of the El Nino phenomenon likely to appear with strong intensity and as analyzed, the rainy season in the Central Highlands and Southern regions appears slightly later than the multi-year average. However, it is possible that the rainy season in this area will end earlier than the annual average.
In particular, the total rainfall in the Central Highlands and the South is likely to be less than the average of many years in the same period in the last months of 2026.
Thank you very much, sir!
