Cattle die of cold in northern Vietnam

The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control said Monday that Son La accounted for the largest number of deaths - 400 - followed by Hoa Binh (170), Lang Son (150) and Cao Bang (100).

Since Feb. 18 a mass of cold air combined with rains has brought the coldest spell this winter. Temperatures in some places dropped below zero, causing snow to cover the trees and ground.

At 6 a.m. Tuesday all 25 northern localities recorded temperatures of below 10 degrees Celsius, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF).

So far 15 of them, including Hanoi, have let kindergarten and primary school students stay at home and wait for the cold spell to pass.

According to the NCHMF, it could last until Feb. 24.

It said the north and north-central regions would experience temperatures of 8-11 degrees in the plains and zero to six in the mountains on Wednesday.