HCMC temperatures drop below 20 degrees Celsius

People could be spotted on HCMC's streets Tuesday morning wearing coats and gloves, some clasping and rubbing their hands together at traffic lights.

Parents are telling their children to wear sweaters and socks to school.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, former deputy head of forecasting at the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center, said in HCMC morning temperatures on Tuesday were 20-22 degrees, a significant drop from the previous days due to the impact of the cold front coming from the north. The city's lowest temperatures the past week were 24-25 degrees, according to AccuWeather.

"Until Tet, HCMC will see cold periods with temperatures possibly dropping to 18 degrees."

Weather stations in the south recorded 19-20 degrees, with some even reporting 17 degrees, the equal lowest for the year, according to the center.

Due to the large difference between morning and day temperatures, it said people should keep themselves warm when going out, especially children and old people.

In the past decade the lowest temperature in HCMC was 17 degrees once in 2009.

But the lowest temperature on record was on December 25, 1999, when it dropped to 16.4 degrees.