Vietnam forecast to face historic heat waves in 2020

Ea Juo Reservoir in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak dries up due to the prolonged heat wave. The photo was taken on March 20 (Photo: VNA)

In May, the country will see more days of heat than the same month of previous years, said the agency.

The country is predicted to face increasing and complicated pattern of natural disasters this year due to the impact of global warming and melting of glaciers, the administration said.

Since the beginning of 2020, abnormal weather events have been reported in different areas of the country, including unprecedented hailstorms in northern provinces in March.

Meanwhile, the central and southern regions are suffering from severe drought and saline intrusion.

Heavy rains are forecast in central and southern provinces at the end of 2020.

The rainfall in the north-western area in May and October is predicted to witness a decline of 10 to 25 percent compared to previous years’ average. Meanwhile, in the north-eastern area, the rainfall in June and September is expected to rise from 10 to 25 percent compared to previous years’ average.

The central region, however, is told to prepare for prolonged droughts, with rainfall at the beginning of the rainy season lower than previous years’ average.

The rainy season is predicted to come late in the Central Highlands and the south, worsening the shortage of water till early May.

In October, the two regions’ rainfall will be 15 to 30 percent higher than the same period last year and the rainy season is forecast to end late.

“There is a slim chance to have an early flood in southern deltas,” the report read.

The annual flood peak at the headwaters of the Cuu Long (Mekong) River on Tien River in Tay Ninh province’s Tan Chau town and Hau River in An Giang province’s Chau Doc district is foreseen to be 0.2 to 0.4 m lower than the annual flood peak. The flood peak will appear by the end of September.

According to a report released by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in January, 2019 was the second hottest year on record following 2016.

“The year 2020 has started out where 2019 left off – with high-impact weather and climate-related events,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.