This phenomenon was officially announced by the Vietnam Meteorological Agency on June 13, based on sea temperature monitoring data along the equatorial region in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean.

Under El Nino conditions, Vietnam's climate changes significantly when storms and tropical depressions appear; average monthly temperatures are higher than normal, there is more and more intense heat, cold comes later and the number of cold days is less than the average of many years.

In particular, El Nino caused a lack of rainfall in most regions of the country, and the continuous drought that occurred in mid-2023 led to a power shortage crisis in the North and North Central regions.

It is forecasted that El Nino will continue to maintain with a probability of over 90% in the first 3 months of 2024, with a probability of 60 - 65% from March to June 2024.

Fewer storms than average for many years

According to statistics, as of December 21, there have been 5 storms and 2 tropical depressions in the East Sea. Compared to the average of many years, the number of storms and tropical depressions operating in the East Sea is much less.

Storms and tropical depressions almost never make landfall directly, so they do not cause strong winds inland. However, storm No. 1 made landfall in the south of Guangxi Province (China), causing strong winds of level 6, gusting to level 7 in the coastal area of ​​Quang Ninh - Hai Phong; the tropical depression in September moved inland in the provinces of Quang Tri and Thua Thien - Hue, quickly weakening into a low pressure area.

Mr. Hoang Phuc Lam, Deputy Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, assessed that this year, the number of storms and tropical depressions is less than the average of many years, which is unusual. However, in the context of El Nino, this is normal, because statistics show that in years with El Nino, storms and tropical depressions are often less than the average of many years.

Record heat

In 2023, heat waves appeared early from mid-March. By April, a series of temperature records were set at many measuring points across the country. Early May recorded the hottest record in Vietnam's history.

Specifically, on May 6, the highest temperature in Hoi Xuan (Thanh Hoa) was 44.1 degrees Celsius, surpassing the record of 43.4 degrees Celsius on April 20, 2019 in Huong Khe (Ha Tinh).

Immediately after that, this record was broken on May 7 when in Tuong Duong district (Nghe An) a temperature of 44.2 degrees Celsius was recorded, becoming the highest temperature ever recorded in the entire territory of Vietnam.

In addition, on May 17, the meteorological station in Ha Dong District (Hanoi) recorded a temperature of up to 41.3 degrees Celsius. This is the highest temperature recorded in Hanoi in May (data was measured relatively within the past 10 years).

In October, a series of measuring stations in the North recorded temperatures exceeding historical values. Accordingly, in Song Ma District (Son La), the highest temperature recorded on October 5 was 37.1 degrees Celsius, exceeding the historical value of temperature that appeared in October 1966 of 36.5 degrees Celsius. In Thai Binh, the highest temperature on October 4 was 34.5 degrees Celsius, exceeding the historical value of October 1976 of 33.9 degrees Celsius. In Bac Son District (Lang Son), the highest temperature on October 5 was 33.3 degrees Celsius, exceeding the historical value of October 1980 of 33.1 degrees Celsius.

First time warning of level 4 natural disaster risk appears in Vietnam

During the widespread rain in the Central region in mid-October, the meteorological agency issued a level 4 disaster risk warning in the Da Nang and Thua Thien - Hue areas according to Article 44, Decision No. 18/2021/QD-TTg dated April 22, 2021 of the Prime Minister on forecasting, warning, transmitting information about natural disasters and disaster risk levels.

During this widespread rain, there were many short-term extreme rains with 24-hour rainfall in some places exceeding 800 mm.

Da Nang records daily rainfall exceeding 41-year historical mark

On October 13, Da Nang recorded 408.6 mm of rainfall, exceeding the historical value of 143.9 mm of daily rainfall in October 1982.

In addition to Da Nang, some places also had daily rain records such as Ca Mau on October 2 with rainfall of 182.8 mm, exceeding the historical value of 1962; in La Gi Town (Binh Thuan) on October 10 with rainfall of 151 mm, exceeding the historical value of 1982; in Phieng Lanh (Quynh Nhai District, Son La) on October 6 with rainfall of 86.9 mm, exceeding the historical value of 1966...

Hue suffers biggest flood in 10 years

In 2023, due to the impact of prolonged heavy rains and localized heavy rains, there were 28 flash floods and landslides with more than 100 points in 35 provinces in the midland and mountainous regions of the North, Central and Central Highlands, causing significant damage to people and property.

In the Northern region, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Binh Thuan, flash floods and landslides mainly occur from late June to October; in the provinces from Ha Tinh to Ninh Thuan, they occur mainly from late September to December; in the Central Highlands, they occur from mid-June to November.

Notably, during the mid-November rains, the provinces from Quang Tri to Quang Ngai had heavy rain with rainfall from 300 - 600 mm, in some places over 1,000 mm, mainly concentrated in Thua Thien - Hue.

During this flood, Thua Thien - Hue was the most severely affected place. The water level in Kim Long River and Phu Oc River was about 80 cm above the warning level 3. This was also the highest flood level in 10 years, the 5th highest in the past 30 years, forcing the reservoirs to continuously regulate the flood.

Floods caused 85% of roads in Hue City to be flooded, tens of thousands of houses were submerged in water.

Earthquake record in Kon Tum

On July 7, a total of 14 earthquakes occurred in Kon Plong District (Kon Tum).

The 13th earthquake occurred at 23:20:58 (Hanoi time), at the coordinates of 14.885 degrees north latitude and 108.286 degrees east longitude; magnitude 3.3 on the Richter scale; focal depth of about 10.3 km, natural disaster risk level 0.

The 14th earthquake occurred at 23:50:14, at the coordinates 14.893 degrees north latitude and 108.290 degrees east longitude; magnitude 3.0 on the Richter scale; focal depth of about 8.3 km; disaster risk level 0.

The fact that there were 14 earthquakes in one day like on July 7th is something that has never happened in Kon Plong District, the only place in Vietnam where earthquakes often occur (with a frequency of several hundred earthquakes per year).

On December 22, the northern provinces experienced severe cold with temperatures dropping sharply. The lowest temperature measured at 6am the same day in Mau Son (Lang Son) was minus 2.2 degrees Celsius; in Sa Pa Town (Lao Cai) was 3.8 degrees Celsius; in the center of Mu Cang Chai District (Yen Bai) was 9 degrees Celsius.

In Lao Cai, on Fansipan mountain, at an altitude of 2,300 m above sea level, a thick layer of ice has appeared covering treetops and vegetation.

In Yen Bai, frost appeared at the top of La Pan Tan mountain at an altitude of 2,000 m above sea level. Meanwhile, Mau Son mountain (Lang Son) had a temperature of minus 2.2 degrees Celsius but no frost.