Although other heat spells will likely continue to occur throughout this summer, it is unlikely that temperatures will hit 40 degrees Celsius again in northern provinces, Hai said.
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"The climate is currently in an intermediate state, not El Nino, so the possibility that north Vietnam will suffer extreme heat spells during this year’s summer is not high," Hai said.
He added that the centre predicts an average of three heat spells per month during June and July. Last week’s heat spell was the first in June, and there may be two more heat waves from now to the end of the month.
Last week’s heat wave occurred on a large scale in the north and central provinces from Thanh Hoa to Phu Yen, where the highest temperatures ranged from 35 to 37 degrees Celsius.
In Hanoi, the temperature reached 41-42 degrees. Hai called last week an extreme weather phenomenon and therefore difficult to predict.
The main reason was the influence of low air pressure in the west, which usually occurs in the summer. Additionally, a rare hot, dry wind in the west and urbanisation in cities helped drive the temperature up, he said.
