Meteorologists predict that Vietnam will have a warm winter and large-scaled droughts this year due to the impact of El Nino.

The Director of the Central Hydrometeorology Centre, Bui Minh Tang, said there will still be spells of piercing cold but of a fewer number and shorter duration.

“This winter may see abnormal warming and droughts on a large scale, especially in the north, Central Highlands and the south,” said the senior meteorologist.

Under the influence of El Nino, storms may remain strong or even increase in strength as they approach the coast, he explained.

So far this year, 20 storms have hit the East Sea in the Pacific Ocean, half of which have wrecked havoc in Vietnam.

The number of “super” storms has sharply increased. In the first 10 months of the year alone, there were 10 such storms, with winds of up to 155-166 km/h, as opposed to the previous trend of just five or six annually.

Tropical storm Ketsana which hit the Philippines and Vietnam in Mid-September is an example of “super” storm. It clocked a high speed of 140 km/h with winds up to 165 km/h.

Typhoon Parma in early October was another example of a storm with a “complicated path” which zigzagged as it raged through the region, forming a figure 8 and hitting the island of Luzon in the Philippines three times.

Though winter has come to Vietnam, the country has seen just one spell of cold so far. Meteorologists said the phenomenon has provided sufficient evidence for them to forecast abnormally strong storms in the upcoming period through the end of the year and heavy rains in the central coastal region./.