Complicated stormy season anticipated as El Nino fades, La Nina comes
VOV.VN - Vietnam will brace itself for a complicated stormy season ahead as El Nino has ended its cycle and La Nina is coming soon, warned national meteorologists.
The global climate phenomenon known as El Nino – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) which comprises the El Nino and La Nina patterns has shifted to the neutral state after El Nino ended its cycle, said Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
According to Khiem, global meteorologists have all agreed that the La Nina phenomenon may develop between July and September with a probability of 65% to 75%. The weather pattern would then stay in the last months of the year and into the first months of 2025, with a probability of 80% to 90%.
With the La Nina pattern emerging, it would make the country’s stormy season more complicated, especially in the second half of the year as its arrival coincides with the local stormy season, said the director.
He cited statistics indicating that when La Nina appears, rainfall often exceeds the average recorded over previous years in the central and Southwestern coastal provinces, and stays below the average for many years in the Northern, Central Highlands, and Southeastern localities.
It’s noteworthy that there is a possibility of heavy rain battering the central region, especially in the coming autumn months, warned Khiem.
Between 10 and 12 storms and tropical depressions are expected to form in the Northern East Sea region from now until the end of the year, of which between five to seven storms will directly affect Vietnam.
Heavy rain will continue to fall towards the end of the year, especially in the central region, a factor increasing the risk of prolonged waterlogging, widespread flooding, flash floods, and landslides occurring in this area, warned the director.
However, the senior meteorologist said that it is too early to confirm the extreme level of the new weather pattern because storms tend to be created due to many different causes.
In the face of complicated meteorological conditions, he recommended that localities fully prepare for the weather events by reinforcing areas vulnerable to flash floods and landslides before the stormy season and heavy rain begin, to ensure people’s safety.
It is highly likely that thunderstorms and heavy rains causing urban flooding will occur more frequently, greatly impacting socio-economic development activities and people’s daily lives, said the director.
