Ca Mau is a coastal delta province, located in the interior region of the northern hemisphere, sub-equatorial zone, and also located in the Asian monsoon region, so the mild climate of Ca Mau is in the sub-equatorial, tropical monsoon, with 2 distinct rainy and sunny seasons.
Morning dew on the field. Photo: Thanh Dung.
Ca Mau province has the general characteristics of the Mekong Delta climate, which is a sub-equatorial, tropical monsoon climate, with a high thermal base (average temperature of 27.90C, the highest average in the year is no longer in April but in May: 30.2oC, the lowest average in January: 26.50 C), this is a suitable condition for the development of agricultural production, aquaculture.
The climate in the province but the recent year is no longer clearly distributed as before, the rainy season is also no longer concentrated from May - November and the dry season months do not take place from December to April of the following year, but the rainfall is often scattered in all are heavy rainfalls in the dry season months of the year, in the rainy season often there are long drought episodes or there months. Specifically, the rainfall from May - November 2005 was 2,090.4 mm, by 2010 it was 1,973 mm; the rainfall from December to April 2005 was 172.6 mm, by 2010 it was 25.3 mm.
Downstream to U Minh. Photo: Quang Minh.
Compared to other provinces in the Mekong Delta, Ca Mau has much higher rainfall. There are 165 rainy days with an average annual rainfall of 1,998.3 mm; precipitation is unevenly distributed in the months and there are differences between regions in the province. At the time of peak precipitation, it also occurs in the years but is no longer concentrated from August to October, then decreases gradually to November as before. The average humidity is 81% but in the dry season, the humidity is lower, in March the humidity is about 74%.
Laden rice fields. Photo: Ngoc Thu.
The prevailing wind regime is seasonal, the prevailing dry season is northeast and east wind, and the average wind speed is about 1.6 - 2.8 m/s; the prevailing rainy season is southwest or west wind, and the average wind speed is 1.8 - 4.5 m/s. In recent years, the weather has been more complicated. In the rainy season, there are often thunderstorms and cyclones from grade 7 to 8 in coastal areas; on Ca Mau - Kien Giang sea area, it is affected by some hurricanes with complex developments, directly affecting the exploitation of seafood and other economic activities in the sea area. During the rainy season, there are also long-lasting droughts (such as Ba Chang drought) that increase the salinization of the rotational production areas of a rice crop on shrimp land.
The rainfall is unevenly distributed in the months and there are differences between areas in the country, more or less affecting the production of the people. Photo: Ngoc Thu.
Basically, the climate in the province is mild, less harsh than other areas, and favorable for agricultural and fishery production, but also pay attention to the following points:
+ The seasonal rain factor is the basis for the province to plan the production of 01 crop of rice on shrimp land in the rainy season, but in conditions that are not active in irrigation, when there is a drought, rice is dead due to salinization.
+ During the rainy season, there are obstacles to residential life and construction of traffic and civil works; but for the sweetening planning area in Tran Van Thoi district and U Minh district in the dry season, construction activities are also difficult due to the lack of transportation of construction materials to the construction site because of the need to fill the salt dam.
The climate in Ca Mau province is temperate, suitable for agricultural production. Photo: Ngoc Thu.
+ In the dry season, prolonged drought sun raises the risk of forest fires, especially in peaty forests; drought sun also increases the salinity of river water and shrimp farming in the lagoon (sometimes up to 40 %o), making shrimp farming slow and easy to develop diseases.
+ Complex developments in weather in the sea area have greatly affected the exploitation of aquatic products, threatening the safety of fishermen, and reducing the efficiency of exploitation trips.
(Source: Summary report on survey results, assessment of land quality, land potential in Ca Mau province).