In just half a month, the whole country will welcome the Lunar New Year of the Dragon in 2024. During the recent days, the northern region has been experiencing severe cold weather (below 13 degrees Celsius), causing the local people to pay special attention to the weather during the Tet holiday of the Dragon year.
While it is still early to provide an accurate forecast for the Tet weather in 2024, according to Professor Dr. Phan Van Tan from the Department of Meteorology, Hydrology and Oceanography at the University of Natural Sciences, it is likely that the northern residents will welcome the new year in weather that is not as bitterly cold as it is now.
“For Tet Nguyen Dan in 2024, the northern region is likely to experience light rain, with daily average temperatures possibly fluctuating around 20 degrees Celsius,” said Professor Dr. Phan Van Tan.
Similarly, Mr. Luu Minh Hai, former Director of the Lao Cai Meteorological Center, stated that while it may not be too cold, this year’s Tet Nguyen Dan will not feel hot like summer. He predicts that the average temperature during Tet Nguyen Dan in the Dragon year may range from 19 to 20 degrees Celsius.
This year, residents in the northern region are likely to celebrate Tet Nguyen Dan in weather that is neither bitterly cold nor hot like summer.
This weather pattern is not uncommon but is quite special, as over the past 60 years, both the northern region and Hanoi have experienced five Tet celebrations during cold weather. The lowest temperatures recorded were just above 10 degrees Celsius.
According to statistics from Vietnam Television, the weather during Dragon years has typically been cold. For instance, on the night of the second day of Tet in the year of the Earth Dragon in 1988, the lowest temperature in Hanoi was just over 7 degrees Celsius, leading to a chilling cold. This also marked the lowest temperature recorded in February since 1977 up to that point.
The festive atmosphere of the year of the Fire Dragon in 1976 was also characterized by the cold typical of the north, with the lowest temperature on Tet in Hanoi dropping to 11.2 degrees Celsius at times. During Tet in the year of the Wood Dragon in 1964, the lowest recorded temperature was only 0.2 degrees Celsius higher than that of the Tet celebration 12 years prior, standing at 11.4 degrees Celsius.
More recently, many people still vividly remember the weather during the Water Dragon year in 2012. At the moment of transition from the old year to the new, Hanoi experienced cold rain after a strong cold front moved in.
Chart showing the lowest temperatures recorded in Hanoi during Tet over the past 60 years for Dragon years.
On the first day of Tet in the Water Dragon year (January 23, 2012), the average daily temperature in the capital was 11.9 degrees Celsius, causing a severe cold. During the Tet holiday, the lowest temperature in Hanoi dropped to 9 degrees Celsius at times. The biting cold enveloped Hanoi and the northern region during the Tet holiday, affecting the daily activities and spring outings of families.
According to statistics from the past 34 years, 2012 was one of the seven years when Hanoi celebrated Tet Nguyen Dan in severely cold weather (with average daily temperatures below 13 degrees Celsius). Other years included 1993, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2008, and 2009, which also experienced severe cold.
In 2000, residents of Hanoi celebrated the year of the Metal Dragon without the piercing cold felt 12 years earlier, but it was still within the cold range. On the first day of Tet in the Metal Dragon year, the average daily temperature recorded was 17.6 degrees Celsius. Moreover, during the Tet holiday, the lowest temperature occasionally dropped to 11.5 degrees Celsius.
As Tet approaches and spring arrives, the weather has changed over the years; however, in general, over the past 60 years, Tet in the Dragon year has consistently brought the characteristic cold of the northern region, resembling a recurring pattern.
