The ongoing hot spell is projected to continue hitting crops and people’s daily activities in the central and southern regions of the country in the next few days, according to the national weather center.

Some areas in the central provinces from Thanh Hoa to Phu Yen reported temperatures of up to 39 degrees Celsius last weekend while over 10,000 families in the south-central province of Binh Thuan have been running short of water for daily activities.

Temperatures of over 39 degrees Celsius were recorded last Friday in Tuong Duong District of Nghe An Province in the north-central region. Other parts of this region are also facing unbearably hot weather.

According to the southern weather center, a hot spell from the west is developing and expanding to the east and the southeast, so intense heat will return to southern provinces in the next few days.

HCMC and other southeastern localities are forecast to experience temperatures of 35-37 degrees Celsius or above. The highest temperatures in the Mekong Delta will hover in the range of 35 and 36 degrees Celsius. 

Meanwhile, 10,220 households in Ham Tan District of Binh Thuan Province have been facing shortages of water for a long time and the local authority has considered subsidizing transport cost for locals to buy water from neighboring areas. 

Huynh Hong Binh, head of the agriculture and rural development office of Ham Tan District, said 10,220 families in Tan Thang, Thang Hai, Son My, Tan Duc, Tan Phu and Tan Minh town had been forced to buy water at over VND100,000 (US$4.6) per cubic meter from other districts.