Extreme weather keeps battering Vietnam: forecasters

Vietnam is forecast to continue being battered by extreme weather this year after a range of unusual weather phenomena appeared recently.
Vietnam is forecast to continue being battered by extreme weather thisyear after a range of unusual weather phenomena appeared recently.

"We'd rarely seen dense frequency of storms and tropical low-pressuresystems attacked the country like last year," said Director of theNational Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Bui Minh Tang.

According to the centre, as many as 14 storms and five tropicallow-pressure systems were reported in Vietnam in 2013. This was thehighest number within five decades.

A rarely-seen snowfallblanketed northern mountainous Lao Cai province's Sa Pa town in themiddle of last December up to 50cm – the thickest within 50 years, Tangsaid.

Local residents in northern provinces sometimes suffereddaily temperatures of 32 degree Celsius during Tet (Lunar New Year), thesummer-season temperature during the winter-spring time, he added.

The unusual hot weather caused disruption to the country's forestry production.

Findings from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showedthat fire destroyed over 13ha of forest nationwide in January only, 47percent higher than the same period last year.

Tang said thatthis year his centre would multiply a very short range forecastingsystem to predict approaching rainstorms several hours before they reachHanoi and Hai Phong city after a model was piloted to forecast everyone hour when strong storms battered the country in 2013.

NguyenVan Hiep, head of the Centre of Meteorological and Climate Prediction,said that drought, strong storm, torrential rain and sea-level risewould hit the country with higher frequency as well as with strongintensity in the future.

The number of hot days was predicted to rise from 30 to 45 each year, especially in the southern region, he added.

Icy weather was forecast to hit northern provinces this month, but it would not prolong, he said.

This month, rainfall would reduce by half compared to the same periodlast year in northern mountainous areas, Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands)and southern region.

It would be about 5-25mm in northernmountainous Son La province and Hanoi; and10-20mm in northern Hai Phongcity and central Thanh Hoa province. In the meantime, it would be only10mm in the Central Highlands and southern region.-VNA

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