Northern Vietnam in deep cold, warmth to return Sunday

Temperatures in the north have fallen by 0.5-2 degrees compared to Tuesday morning. At the mountainous Mau Son area in Lang Son Province, layers of ice cover high-altitude locations, as thick as 2-4 cm. They were all over the trees, grasses, even vehicles.

Besides Lang Son, five other localities recorded temperatures below 5 degrees: Ha Giang’s Dong Van and Vinh Phuc’s Tam Dao at 1 degree; Dien Bien’s Pha Din and Lao Cai’s Sa Pa at 2 degrees; Son La’s Moc Chau, Bac Kan’s Ngan Son and Cao Bang’s Trung Khanh at 3 degrees; and Lai Chau’s Sin Ho at 4 degrees.

Temperatures in the plains were typically at 7-9 degrees. In Hanoi, most weather stations recorded temperatures at around 8 degrees. Hai Duong’s Chi Linh recorded the lowest temperatures at 7 degrees.

Temperatures gradually increased in the north by noon, with the plains and midlands seeing temperatures at 14 degrees, while the mountains saw temperatures at 8-10 degrees. Hanoi continues to let students stay home to avoid the cold.

In central Vietnam, several places in Thanh Hoa and Nghe An Provinces also saw temperatures below 10 degrees. Localities from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue meanwhile saw temperatures at around 11-14 degrees.

Further south, Da Nang recorded temperatures at 18 degrees, while Quang Nam's Tam Ky, which is near Hoi An, recorded temperatures at 17 degrees.

Nguyen Van Huong, head of the weather forecast department of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said the most intense period of the cold wave, where average daytime temperatures are below 13 degrees, would last until Jan. 26. Areas from Thanh Hoa to Ha Tinh would see the severe cold wave end one day earlier.

"After Jan. 28, the weather would gradually become warmer," he said.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday called for localities in northern and central Vietnam to instruct people on measures to combat the cold.

This is the second severe cold wave this winter after an earlier one that lasted from Dec. 17 to 22.

Then, Mau Son recorded temperatures of minus 2.5 degrees, the lowest in 11 years.