Climate

Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate, but climatic variation is also dominant due to its varying topography, altitude and different latitudes. Consequently, the climate in Vietnam can vary from the frosty winter in the far north to the subequatorial, warm climate in the south of the country.

Since the country lies in the tropical area, the monsoonal influence is one of important factors of climatic variation in Vietnam. The Northeast monsoon blowing along the China coast and across the Gulf of Tonkin brings wet chilly winters to the northern part of the country, but dry, warm temperatures to the south during October through March. Whilst the southwestern monsoon occurring from April to October bring the heated air from the Gobi Desert and deposit the heavy downpour to the whole country except for the areas sheltered by mountains in the north and the Central Highlands. Between July and November, there are several occasions of unpredictable typhoons which develop over the ocean east of Vietnam. The central and northern Vietnam is often hit, resulting in a great damage. The average temperature throughout the year ranges from 22°C to 27°C. In Hanoi, the average temperature

However, in each region is dominated by different seasons according to its topographical relief and altitude.

The South: With its subequatorial climate which is dominantly influenced by the monsoon, the Southern Vietnam possesses two main seasons: the wet and the dry. The wet season lasts form May to November (June to August are the wettest months). There are often heavy, but short downpours during daytime. The dry season commences from December to April.

The Central Vietnam: The climate in this region can be divided into two zones: the north-central and the south-central. The north-central covering the area from Thanh Hoa province to Danang shares the characteristic climate of the Red River Delta region to the north: a humid, cool winter and fine drizzle from November to April, and a hot, wet summer from May to October.

In many provinces in the south-central zone enjoy similar climate to that of the Mekong Delta: warm and humid. Within the Central Highlands, temperature is lower than the other areas due to its lifted altitude, and sometimes rainfall can be found in this area as well.

The North: The northern region has two distinguished seasons: winter and summer. From November to April, the north enjoys the humid, cool winter, associated with the northeast monsoon from Siberia and China; temperature can dip down to 0°C. While in the east of Hanoi, the fine drizzle can be found almost every month of winter. Summer in the north commences from May to October with high temperature and heavy downpours or occasional typhoon. The hottest months are June, July, and August.

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