A woman stores straw to proterct her cattle during cold weather in Lang Son province (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - People in thenorthern mountains shivered yesterday as temperature dropped to freezing point- and snow is likely to blanket Sa Pa Township on January 10.
On Lang Son province’s Mau Son Mountain,the thermometer dropped to minus 0.3 degrees Celsius on January 9.
“Yesterday was the coldest day since thebeginning of winter,” Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Centre forHydro-meteorological Forecasting said.
Data from the centre showed by 6amyesterday morning, the temperature fell to 3.2 degrees in Vinh Phuc province’sTam Dao district; 3.4 degrees Celsius in Ha Giang province’s Dong Van district;4.2 degrees Celsius in Lao Cai province’s Sa Pa district; and 4.8 degreesCelsius in Son La province’s Moc Chau district.
The centre warned that extreme cold weatherwas predicted to last until January 13. It said the temperatures would be 8-11degrees in delta localities, 5-8 degrees in mountainous provinces and 3 degreesin high mountains. Hai added that the Mau Son area was in the centre of thecold spell.
Luu Minh Hai, director of Lao Cai province’sCentre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, said snow was expected to fall onFansipan Mountain and nearby Sa Pa Town on early January 10.
Hanoi is also experiencing the coldestweather since the beginning of winter with temperatures of 8-11 degreespredicted until January 10.
Officials in Lang Son province on January 9allowed students to take a day off from school due to the extreme weather.
The provincial People’s Committee orderedrelevant agencies to assist local breeders to keep their cows and buffaloeswarm. The measures include providing shelters and deep straw and even lightingfires to keep the animals warm.
The provincial agriculture sectordispatched teams to villages to help local farmers protect their crop from thecold.
In Lao Cai province, chairman of theprovincial People’s Committee, Dang Xuan Phong, sent an urgent message to allunits to help minimise damage to animals and crops.
Phong told the chairmen of People’sCommittees to delay all non-urgent meetings to focus on helping residents.
The Hanoi’s Education and TrainingDepartment on January 9 said that parents should allow their children to take aday off from primary school if the forecast was for temperatures below 10degrees. If temperatures fell lower than 7 degrees, secondary school studentsshould stay home.
Local schools were told to contact parentsto inform them about extreme cold days. - VNA
VNA
