Northern Vietnam sees coldest spell since start of winter, lows even hit 0.2°C
VOV.VN - Northern Vietnam is experiencing the coldest spell since the start of winter, with temperatures dropping sharply across the region. The cold is set to ease from January 24, as the cold air mass gradually weakens and temperatures rise day by day.
According to Mai Van Khiem, Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the severe cold has been driven by a strong cold air mass combined with an upper-level westerly jet. As a result, northern Vietnam saw cloudy skies overnight and into the morning of January 22, accompanied by scattered light rain. Temperatures across the region fell markedly compared with previous days.
In mountainous and midland areas of northern Vietnam, temperatures dropped to around 5-7 degrees Celsius. At Mau Son in northern Lang Son province, the lowest temperature recorded on the morning of January 22 fell to just 0.2 degrees Celsius, a level rarely seen so far this winter, Khiem said.
In the Red River Delta, temperatures declined to between 9 and 11 degrees Celsius. In Hanoi, morning readings were generally below 11 degrees. Specific measurements included 10.4 degrees Celsius in Ba Vi, 10.2 in Son Tay, 10.9 in Lang, 10.5 in Hoai Duc and 10.8 in Ha Dong.
Compared with the previous morning, when the cold air mass first began to affect the region, temperatures across northern Vietnam dropped by around 6–8 degrees Celsius. In Hanoi, the decline was more pronounced, at roughly 9–10 degrees.
Khiem noted that the first widespread severe cold spell of the 2025-2026 winter occurred from January 6 to January 8, while the current episode marks the second. However, the two cold spells differ in nature. The earlier spell was dry, with clearer skies that allowed nighttime temperatures to fall sharply while daytime sunshine pushed readings back up. The current cold spell, by contrast, is damp, with low nighttime temperatures and limited daytime warming.
On January 22, all of northern Vietnam is experiencing widespread severe and extreme cold, marking the first such day of the 2025-2026 winter.
From now through January 23, severe cold is set to persist across northern Vietnam, with extreme cold continuing in mountainous and midland areas. Overnight and early morning temperatures are likely to remain around 5-7 degrees Celsius in mountainous and midland areas, and about 10-12 degrees in the Red River Delta. Daytime highs on January 23 are expected to range from 15 to 18 degrees Celsius.
From January 24, the cold air mass is forecast to gradually weaken, allowing temperatures in northern Vietnam to rise steadily. This warmer pattern is likely to continue through the end of January 2026.
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