Temperatures will likely drop to around 20 degrees Celsius over the Christmas and New Year holidays in Ho Chi Minh City as a result of an incoming cold front, a local weather forecaster announced on Thursday.

Residents of the southern hub could enjoy cooler temperatures at night and in the early morning from Christmas Eve on Sunday through Wednesday next week, according to Le Dinh Quyet, head of the weather forecast division under the southern hydrometeorological station.

Another round of cool air could descend on the city between New Year’s Eve and the first few days of the new year, during which mercury will likely fall to between 19 and 20 degrees Celsius, he forecast.

He also attributed the hot weather over the past few days to the late arrival of cold fronts this year and noted that most cold snaps have intensified at a slow pace this month.

Vietnam has experienced just two fast-moving cold fronts in December.

One intense cold front was recorded between December 6 and 7 and the other took place in around mid-December, causing temperatures to plunge sharply in northern Vietnamese localities.

The frequent arrival of intense cold fronts has contributed to relatively mild weather in southern Vietnam.

However, weather patterns this year differ from previous years in that cold fronts have arrived and moved eastward toward the sea before weakening, meaning temperatures in southern Vietnam have not dropped as significantly as in previous years.

Additionally, a subtropical high-pressure system, which is attributed to the sunny weather in southern Vietnam from February to May each year, was spotted in this region and became more intense this year.

This has led to high temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius in Ho Chi Minh City and other southern localities for the past several days.

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