A cold front has been forecast to lower temperatures and cause rainfall in northern Vietnam while posing high risks of flood in the central region since Tuesday.

Provinces along the northern border have experienced light rain since Tuesday morning, with the highest rainfall recorded at up to 40 millimeters in Ha Giang Province, the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reported.

As of the late afternoon of the same day, the cold front extended, covering the rest of the northern region before hitting the north-central provinces from Quang Binh to Thua Thien-Hue as night fell.

Under the influence of the climatic conditions, localities in the north saw a drop in temperature, which was between 16 and 19 degrees Celsius in the plain and from 9 to 13 degrees Celsius in mountainous areas.

Rain fell on Hanoi and nearby provinces, with common temperatures between 15 and 18 degrees Celsius.

Mountainous localities in the north are expected to be dampened by heavy downpours and high risks of landslides due to the combined effect of the cold front and convergence zone at high latitude.

Central provinces are forecast to be covered with medium to torrential rain at between 100 and 300 millimeters.

Sea areas in the Gulf of Tonkin and the northern part of the East Vietnam Sea, including the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, will be affected by winds of about 61kph and squalls of up to 88kph, causing waves between two and four meters high.

The water level in rivers from Quang Binh to Nghe An Provinces is anticipated to rise, posing a high possibility of flash floods in lower areas.