The extreme heat being experienced in the southern Vietnamese provinces is forecast to continue until early June and is expected to be followed by violent storms, as the region shifts from being influenced by the El Nino phenomenon to the La Nina.

Despite recent showers that have triggered joy among local citizens, weather in the southern part of Vietnam remains scorching hot with no let-up expected until late May, or early June in some places, according to the Southern Hydro-Meteorological Station.

People in southern Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City, have been experiencing temperatures ranging from 37 to 39 degrees Celsius, peaking at around 3:00 pm in the afternoon.

These temperatures are two to three degrees Celsius higher than those recorded during the same period of last year.

The weather conditions are considered one of the effects brought about by the El Nino phenomenon present in the country for the past year, said Vu Quang Dau, deputy head of the Southern Hydro-Meteorological Station.

Other El Nino effects include a drop in rainfall, or the complete absence of rain during the rainy season, low humidity, and others, all magnified by the activities of the westerly hot front and the subtropical ridge, Dau elaborated.

The sky is clearer, allowing sunrays to directly touch the ground, resulting in the hot, dry atmosphere as well as the burning sensation on skin.

Potential La Nina

The Southern Hydro-Meteorological Station has also predicted that the current effects of El Nino would be neutralized during July and August, while the La Nina phenomenon would hit the region in late 2016.

As a result, the number of storms in the East Vietnam Sea this year is estimated at between 10 and 12, about six of which are predicted to directly affect Vietnam.

This figure is nearly double that of 2014 and 2015, the station added. 

According to Dau, the forecast is based on scientific evidence, which is the standard deviation of sea surface temperatures, whose possibility of happening is between 52 and 57 percent.

The La Nina is expected to impact Vietnam between October and December and could make its appearance sooner in September, the weather expert said.

Dau said that the meteorological events could be a repetition of those in 1998, in which the country was influenced by both a record-breaking El Nino followed by a prolonged La Nina.

Some unique features of the La Nina phenomenon include an increasing number of storms and tropical depressions, and unpredictable tempests whose consequences are difficult to predict, Dau explained.

Le Thi Xuan Lan, a weather pundit based in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the current weather conditions reminded her of Typhoon Linda in 1997, which killed over 3,000 people, destroyed about 200,000 houses and left some 383,000 residents homeless in Vietnam.

The tropical storm formed in the southern part of the East Vietnam Sea and struck the southern province of Ca Mau 48 hours later, Lan added.