Over the years of living in a tropical country coming from a non-tropical one, I was very affected by the heat and humidity that exists here in Vietnam. For almost all of the year I would be in trouble if I was trying to do something outside as I would sweat like mad and be very uncomfortable. It seemed as though the only thing that brought me relief was to either be in a body of water like the ocean or a swimming pool, or be inside with the air conditioning blasting.
However, in 2025 it is now coming close to June and I have my doors open with the air con off most of the day. So what changed? Has the temperature not been that bad yet this year, or am I actually getting used to it?
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The above is how I have imagined that Vietnam looks from space almost every day of the year outside of December and January. It is VERY hot and humid here and while the locals walk around with trousers, hats, and even jackets, if I have so much as a cotton shirt on, I am going to sweat almost immediately. I had taken to wearing sport shirts almost all the time because the moisture doesn't show up on them as clearly as with cotton, but even then I was normally quite uncomfortable.
This year though, I haven't been complaining at all and I also believe that it is still very hot.
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At first I was thinking that maybe May isn't actually one of the hot months and this would make sense because we are still in the Northern hemisphere and May in my home country is still quite mild. But the I looked at at number of charts and saw that the really bad months in Da Nang tend to be July and August and right now, we are right on part with that level.
So the question is: Have I actually changed as far as my tolerance for high temperature is concerned?
It is called acclimation and it is a phenomenon that I didn't really believe in until recently and it is just you "getting used to" how something is over time. I have been here for 6 years and this is the first year that I have been able to comfortably walk around in the daytime without fear of coming back home looking like I just went for a swim when it is actually just my own sweat.
I still don't wear heavy cotton shirts though, that for me would be a great way to end up wet.
If you come from the west, I don't think that most people are really prepared for how brutally hot and humid this country - and the others around it - actually are. Imagine the hottest day you can remember in summer with the cicadas screaming and everything just seems miserable... that is 2/3 of the year here.
Did I actually get used to it? Well i think the answer to that is both yes and no. I know understand what the temperature is going to be like but I also make clothing decisions based on what I know the weather is going to be like. Wearing sport shirts that are made out of synthetic materials is a must, because our regular t-shirt material that we use in the west is basically an insulator and you are looking for the opposite of that in a climate like this. These days almost every shirt I wear is made of this sort of material. On the days that I get bold and wear one of my super-nice-looking cotton T-shirts, even if it is night time, I end up regretting it.
The same lack of being prepared for extreme changes in climate can be seen in reverse. When I hear about Vietnamese people traveling to Europe for example, in one particular situation it was a girl with a Swedish husband, in all the photos she was wrapped up in a sleeping bag outside while everyone else was wearing shorts. It cuts both way this weather knife does, and for the most part Vietnamese people from this part of the country anyway, are completely unprepared for weather that you and I likely consider light-jacket weather.
I hope that I am getting used to it, but i think the likelihood of me just being smarter about my clothing is definitely helping.