Climate and Weather
The climate and weather in Vietnam is resulted from its unique location and geography. The climate of the country varies considerably from region to region. Although the entire country lies in the tropics and subtropics, local conditions vary from frosty winter in the far northern hills to year-round, subequatorial warmth in the Mekong Delta. Broadly speaking, Vietnam’s weather is dictated by two monsoon seasons which influence the changes of the rainfall and the tropical humidity. The humidity in general, however, is high with average ranging around 84% a year.
From May to October, the southwest monsoon brings hot, humid weather to the whole country except for those areas sheltered by mountains. Under the influences of this monsoon, southern and central Vietnam stay at high temperatures all year round. The South has the humid tropical climate with three distinct seasons: a cooler season from November to January, a hot season from February to April and a rainy season from May to November. The central highlands have the seasons as the south, only with much lower temperatures during the winter season.
In the contrary, northern Vietnam has a pretty cold winter occurring from November to April under the influence of the northeast monsoon during the period. During this monsoon, frost and snow may occur in the highest mountainous regions, northern Vietnam has cloudy days with occasional light rain, while southern Vietnam tends to be dry and sunny. The northern part stretches from Hai Van Pass towards the north and fully enjoys four seasons a year, namely, spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Vietnam climate becomes unpredictable at times when the country has to face climatic turbulence happening mostly in the coastal regions from July to November every year. These regions are likely to be hit by typhoons, sometimes with devastating impact. There are also occasional floods and droughts threatening people’s life by causing unpredictably serious consequences on agricultural development.
Vietnam climatic conditions in general include 100 days of rainfall, with an average rainfall of 1,500 to 2,000 mm of rain and 1,500 to 2,000 sunny hours every year. Because of the monsoon, Vietnam’s average temperature is lower than the other Asian countries located in the same longitude in both winter and summer. The annual average temperatures range from 22 centigrade to 27 centigrade. The particularly equitable Vietnam climate attracts a great number of tourists to the country yearly, creating favorable conditions for the development of its tourism industry.
