In the cold of 9 degrees Celsius, Huu Tho (L) and Van Hung, both working in delivery, warm themselves up by the side of a bonfire underneath an overpass at the Ring Road 3-Nguyen Xien Street of Thanh Xuan District.
For the past three days, Hanoi and other northern Vietnam localities have been experiencing a severe cold wave, which plunged temperatures in the capital to 9 degrees at the lowest.
High-altitude locations like Lang Son's Mau Son and Cao Bang's Phia Oac even saw ice and frost forming.
A woman wears a blanket as she rides her motorbike on Linh Nam Street, Hoang Mai District.
Fierce winds, coupled with air temperatures at 8-9 degrees, forced people in traffic to protect themselves against the cold.
Despite clear skies and no rain, a man can be seen wearing coats, raincoats, and boots to protect him from the elements in Dong Da District.
Thuy An (L) and Yen Nhi, 12th graders at a vocational school on Kim Nguu Street, wear thick, long coats when they go out.
For the past three days, primary school students in Hanoi have been staying home as temperatures in the morning were at around 9 degrees. If temperatures recorded at 6 a.m. falls below 10 degrees, primary school students may stay home. Middle school and high school students may stay home once temperatures fall below 7 degrees, according to the city regulations.
Kim Thanh, a merchant at the Long Bien Market, brings with her a thick blanket as she tries to sell watermelons.
"I will sit here all day, so I have to bring my blanket with me to stay warm. It has been a long time since I last felt such a terrible cold," Thanh said, adding that the cold also meant slower sales than usual.
A woman has her face and neck covered against the cold, her hands holding a warm glass of tea.
The cold wave, where average daytime temperatures fall below 13 degrees, is expected to persist until Sunday, after which the weather will gradually get warmer, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
Foreign tourists wear thick coats amid Hanoi's wintery cold.
The low temperatures also mean fewer people going outside.
At night, Nguyen Dinh Hung must set up camp with multiple layers to protect himself against the cold as he watches over his kumquat trees on Tan Mai Street, Hoang Mai District. Kumquat is a popular decoration for Tet, which comes in two weeks.
"I've brought out the trees for a few days, at the time when it's the coldest, so I had to set up camp to sleep over. I had to put up additional sheets around the tent to keep warm," said Hung, who lives in Thuong Tin District.
Around 2 km away on Kim Nguu Street of Hai Ba Trung District, street cleaners Tieu Huong (L) and Mai light up a bonfire to stay warm as they wait for the trash collection.
"We sweep the streets outside so there's no shelter for us. Our night shift begins at 4:30 p.m. until there is no trash left. It is cold, I just want to finish the job quickly and go home," Huong said.
"It's so cold. Sweeping and pushing the carts warms the body up a bit, and the company also gives us ginger candy to hold in our mouth, yet they only last a short while," said Ngoc Lien, a worker at the PhuThanh Urban Structure company, as she pushes a garbage cart on Tam Trinh Street, Hoang Mai District.
On Hang Cot Street of HoanKiem District, two traffic police officers, Nguyen Tien Dung (R) and Vu Hong Long wear face masks as they check alcohol levels of people on the road.
"Our shift lasts from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. Besides our uniform, we must wear additional clothing to keep ourselves warm. It gets very cold late at night," Dung said.
