Cold air hits north, temperatures down 5 degrees

Hanoi thermometers hit 20 degrees Thursday night, while the cold front is expected to last throughout the north for 3-4 days.

The mass of cold air has already reached the edges of mountainous northern Vietnam localities, and will soon reach eastern and western parts of the region, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

U.S. weather forecast service AccuWeather anticipated Hanoi’s temperatures to fall to 20-27 degrees on Saturday, four degrees lower than Friday. The lowest temperatures would be seen on Sunday, at 20-26 degrees. High-altitude locations, like Lao Cai’s Sa Pa, would see temperatures at 13-20 degrees on the weekend, 2-3 degrees lower than the cold wave back on Oct. 9.

Northern parts of central Vietnam will also see the impacts of cold air starting Thursday night, where the lowest daytime temperatures would be around 19-22 degrees. Starting Monday next week, temperatures will gradually rise by 1-2 degrees each day.

The effects of cold air, combined with impacts of storm Sanba, which had devolved back into a tropical depression, will cause strong winds and rough seas at the Gulf of Tonkin.

For the next month, masses of cold air are expected to exert their influence more frequently. However, average temperatures in Vietnam are expected to be 0.5-1 degree higher than previous years.