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Sa Pa has a typical topography of the northern mountainous region, with steep slopes, rugged terrain and complicated dissection. Located in the east of Hoang Lien Son range, Sa Pa has an average altitude of 1,200 m to 1,800 m, the terrain is inclined and gradually sloping in the direction of West - Southwest to Northeast. The highest point is Fansipan peak with 3,143 m high and the lowest point is Bo stream 400 m high above sea level.

Sa Pa is home to a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. The total population of 36,000 consists mostly of minority groups. Besides the Kinh (Viet) people (15%) there are mainly five ethnic groups in Sa Pa: Hmong 52%, Dao 25%, Tay 5%, Giay 25%, and a small number of Xa Pho. Approximately 7,000 live in Sa Pa, the other 36,000 being scattered in small communes throughout the district.

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Most of the ethnic minority people work their land on sloping terraces since the vast majority of the land is mountainous. Their staple foods are rice and corn.

The geographical location of the area makes it a truly unique place for many interesting plants and animals, allowing it to support many inhabitants. Many very rare or even endemic species have been recorded in the region.

The scenery of the Sa Pa region in large part reflects the relationship between the minority people and nature. This is seen especially in the paddy fields carpeting the rolling lower slopes of the Hoang Lien Son range. It is possible to see the peak of Fan Si Pan on a clear day. Fan Si Pan, as the last major peak in the Himalayan chain, offers a real challenge to even the keenest walker but an opportunity of staggering views and a rare glimpse of some of the last remaining primary rain forest in Vietnam. Hence, it it a very famous destinations among local and international tourists.

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Map of Vietnam showing the locations of 158 weather stations in Vietnam. (Tran, 2011)

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National weather service - National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting (NCHMF)

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National weather service - National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting (NCHMF)

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The National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting is a public non-business organization directly under the General Department of Meteorology and Hydrology, with the function of organizing the implementation of meteorological, climate, hydrological, water source forecasts and warnings, hydro-meteorological forecasts and performing hydro-meteorological services.

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Centennial Observatory Station in Vietnam

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Centennial Observatory Station in Vietnam

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Phu Lien is the weather station located in Hai Phong city (northeast Viet Nam), which has the longest history in weather observation in Vietnam. It was established in 1902, and used to provide data for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.
The station was originally equipped with only meteorological magnetic field monitoring equipment. Astronomical monitoring equipment, seismographs, earthquake measuring devices were later added.
Recently, Phu Lien station still plays an important role in monitoring weather conditions, providing forecasts, and minimizing damage brought about by natural disasters in the country’s northeast region.

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Sa Pa is located close to the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere's Asia-tropical belt, with a humid and temperate subtropical climate, with two typical seasons. The summer is cool and rainy from May to October every year, and the winter is cold, with little rain lasting from November to April next year.

Due to the high terrain, complex division, the West and Southwest are surrounded by Hoang Lien Son range, Sapa's climate has its own typical features and is divided into two climate zones: highland and lowland, creating diversity in agricultural and forestry production. Sapa's cool and fresh climate is an ideal vacation spot for domestic and foreign tourists. However, snowfall, frost, hail, and hoarfrost also affect production and people's daily life.

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In the period of 1961-1990, July was the warmest month (27.4˚C) and August was the month with highest precipitation (314mm). The graph also shown 2 distinct seasons: summer from April to October with high precipitation and warmer temperature, winter from November to March with little precipitation and cooler temperature.

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However, in 1991-2020, the warmest month was June (27.7˚C), and the highest precipitation month was July (305.2mm). The same climatic seasons can be observed.

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As can be seen from the two graphs, the mean temperature had increased by 0.5˚C, and the precipitation sum had decreased despite the rise of the precipitation in January, March and November.

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In the boxplots, it is warmer in Oct-Apr in the period 1991-2020 than in 1961-1990.
Precipitation shows larger variations with less anomalies, which probably indicates there are more frequent precipitation but in less amount than in the previous period.

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SaPa is one of the rare places in Vietnam having snow during winter. This is because it is located in a high-elevated and mountainous area, which is preferable for snow to occur.

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Mean annual temperatures from 1901 to 2020

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Mean annual temperatures from 1901 to 2020

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The pattern can be observed as:
- Warm period from 1920s to 1950s, then cold period from 1950s to 1970s, then warm period again in 1970s to 2020.
- The general trend is upward, with 1970-1971 being the coldest year (~22.2˚C) and 1999/2000 being the warmest year (~24.1˚C),

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Mean annual precipitation from 1901 to 2020

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Mean annual precipitation from 1901 to 2020

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The tendency can be observed as:
- Overall, mean annual precipitation from 1901-2020 fluctuated around 130mm, with the wettest year was 1919/1920 (~180mm), and the driest year was 2020 (90mm).

- There is large variability during 1900s-1940s and 1960s-2020

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Change of mean annual temperature  in Southeast Asia from 1901 to 2020

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Change of mean annual temperature  in Southeast Asia from 1901 to 2020

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Northern Vietnam (where SaPa is located) and a part of northern coastal area experienced 0.5 to 1˚C change, while the rest of the country is 1-1.5˚C warmer.

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Change of Mean Annual Temperature in Southeast Asia from 1971 to 2020

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Change of Mean Annual Temperature in Southeast Asia from 1971 to 2020

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However in 1971-2020, the trend is warmer by 1.5-2˚C in all over Vietnam. Some places in the northwest Vietnam can have the mean temperature 2-3˚C warmer.

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Change of Mean Precipitation in Southeast Asia from 1901 to 2020

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Change of Mean Precipitation in Southeast Asia from 1901 to 2020

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0-0.1mm drier in the north Vietnam, while middle part is 0.2-0.5mm wetter

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Change of Mean Annual Precipitation in Southeast Asia from 1971 to 2020

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Change of Mean Annual Precipitation in Southeast Asia from 1971 to 2020

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0.2-0.5 drier in the north and small area in the south Vietnam, while the rest is 0.5-1mm wetter.

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In January 2016, Sa Pa experienced an extreme cold with a lowest record of -4.2˚C, way below the average winter temperate here (below 10˚C). This is the historical lowest temperature since the observation data in Sa Pa since 1956.
Snow and ice fell with a strong and prolonged intensity, causing the temperature in many highland areas drop, ranging from 0 to -4.2˚C.
Tens of thousands the students here missed school because of the snow and ice.
The agricultural was heavily affected, with many thousands of cattle died as a result of the extreme cold. Agricultural terrace, especially rice could not withstand the weather during the cold period.

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Projected mean annual temperature in 2000-2100 

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Projected mean annual temperature in 2000-2100 

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The worst scenario is RCP8.5 as a business-as-usual scenario with increasing greenhouse gas emissions over time. Mean temperature can increased as highest in 2100 by about 4˚C. The highest change can be as much as 6˚C warmer.

In the optimistic scenario RCP2.6 with huge effort is assumed to have been made, mean temperature still increase by at least 1˚C.

In the other scenario, RCP4.5 and RCP6.0, the mean temperature change is approximately 2˚C, however, it is still a bit higher in RCP6.0.

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Projected mean precipitation totals in 2000-2100 

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Projected mean precipitation totals in 2000-2100 

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In all scenarios, mean precipitation change is similar by about 0.1mm wetter, even in the worst and the most optimistic scenarios. The largest change is approximately 1mm wetter and approximately 0.25mm drier.

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In SaPa:
Unfortunately there is no active mitigation strategies in SaPa as well as the mountainous region in Vietnam but only prevention activities to minimize the losses. Such activities are:
- Closely monitoring and informing people about any extreme cold events, proactively implement measures to ensure safety for people (prohibition the use of coal stoves for heating inside).
- Guidance on disease prevention and control for livestock; covering, shielding, watering, fertilizing, keeping moisture for the production of rice and vegetables, reviewing and adjusting the sowing schedule at times of severe cold.

In Vietnam
- Using cleaner energy, greenhouse gases reduced by 12.9% (compared to using fossil fuels); energy consumption as a percentage of GDP decreased by 1.8%/year on average in 2020.
- The percentage of industrial enterprises with cleaner production has increased from 28% in 2010 to 46.9% in 2020; - Increase forest coverage rate by 42% in 2020.
- Reduce disaster risk and damage by timely and effective prevention and monitoring.

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https://climexp.knmi.nl/start.cgi?id=someone@somewhere

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa_Pa#History

https://sapa.laocai.gov.vn/1227/27461/53376/258440/dieu-kien-tu-nhien/dieu-kien-tu-nhien

https://www.nchmf.gov.vn/kttv/

Tran, Q. B., & Laituri, J. M. (2011). Defining required forest area for protection soil from erosion in Vietnam: a GIS-based application. VNU Journal of Science: Earth and Environmental Sciences, 27(2).

https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/society/20190324/vietnam-s-meteorological-facility-recognized-as-worlds-centennial-observatory-station/49400.html

https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/chu-dong-trien-khai-cac-bien-phap-ung-pho-ret-dam-ret-hai-347959.html

https://dangcongsan.vn/the-gioi/nhung-van-de-toan-cau/viet-nam-tham-gia-tich-cuc-trach-nhiem-chong-bien-doi-khi-hau-596974.html