Nguyen Van Huong, head of the center’s Weather Forecasting Department, said the northwest region began experiencing the heat on April 3, with daytime highs of 35 degrees Celsius and above. By April 6, the sweltering conditions had expanded across most of northern Vietnam, including Hanoi.
Central Vietnam also saw hot conditions start on April 3, which quickly intensified. By April 4, severe heat had set in, pushing maximum temperatures to 37 C or higher. The Central Highlands and southern Vietnam have been recording widespread heat since April 5.
Forecasts indicate the heat in the north may persist until April 12 or 13 before gradually easing, with highs generally ranging from 34 to 37 C, though the northwest may still reach a punishing 39 to 40 C.
In central Vietnam, the heatwave is expected to last until mid-April, with common temperatures of 36 to 39 C and some localized areas exceeding 40 C.
In the south and the Central Highlands, hot weather is expected to continue through late April and into early May, maintaining highs of 34 to 37 C. Forecasters noted there may be brief periods of relief, but the heat is likely to quickly intensify again afterward.
Explaining the underlying causes, Huong said the extreme weather in the northern and central regions is primarily driven by a western low-pressure system combined with dry foehn winds. This combination creates arid air and causes daytime temperatures to rise rapidly.
Conversely, the Central Highlands and southern regions are being affected by a stable air mass that suppresses cloud formation. This results in prolonged, uninterrupted sunshine from morning to afternoon.
Because of these differing meteorological triggers, the nature of the heat varies geographically. The northwest and central regions are experiencing dry, intense heat, while the south is seeing longer-lasting heat waves with slightly lower peak temperatures.
This year’s heat has also arrived significantly earlier than long-term averages. In the northwest and the central corridor from Nghe An to Da Nang, the heatwave began around March 30, about a week earlier than the usual onset in the second week of April.
In the northeast, where widespread heat typically arrives in the second half of May, conditions flared up in early April this year, a stark 15 to 20 days earlier than normal. The south also saw an early onset, with the region’s first heatwave occurring in mid-February, about 10 days ahead of the multi-year average.
Meteorological authorities warn that April 2026 will see more intense heat than usual, particularly in the northwest, the south, and the central coast from Thanh Hoa to Hue. Average temperatures across these regions are forecast to be 1.5 to 2.5 C higher than normal, while other regions may see increases of 0.5 to 1.5 C.
Heatwaves are expected to become even more frequent and intense in northern and central Vietnam starting in May, lasting until about August before gradually easing in September.
“Overall, heatwaves in 2026 are likely to be more frequent and more severe than in the same period in 2025,” Huong said.
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