Heavy rain during the morning rush hour snarled traffic across the city as commuters headed to work and school on Monday.
In the photo, vehicles jostle for space on Xa Dan Street at 8 a.m.
By 3 p.m., the rain stopped, but the gridlock persisted. On Nguyen Khoai Road, a 500-meter line of vehicles backed up on the approach to Vinh Tuy Bridge.
A long queue of vehicles snaked across Vinh Tuy Bridge towards the city center. Similar congestion gripped most bridges spanning the Red River.
Traffic on Ring Road 3 near the Le Van Luong interchange remained gridlocked at 3 p.m. on Monday, one week before the Lunar New Year, jamming both the elevated highway and the street below.
Key arteries including the elevated Ring Road 3, Pham Hung, Khuat Duy Tien, and Nguyen Xien were choked with traffic in both directions.
Vehicle density reached critical levels along the major Lang - Truong Chinh - Nguyen Trai - Khuat Duy Tien corridor.
Lieutenant Colonel Vuong Dang Cuong, head of Traffic Police Team No. 7 under the city's Traffic Police Office, said that officers are now stationed at key intersections throughout the day, rather than just during peak hours.
On Nguyen Trai Street, drivers transporting peach and kumquat trees for Tet decoration were forced to weave precariously through the gridlock.
"It took me more than 40 minutes to go just over 3 km," said deliveryman Hoang Van Bon.
Pre-Tet congestion has become a perennial issue for Hanoi. Over the past weekend, a surge in holiday shopping and social gatherings clogged ring roads and inner-city streets, a situation significantly exacerbated by the Monday morning's rain.
The traffic woes were compounded by a cold spell gripping the northern provinces. In Hanoi, temperatures dropped to between 11 and 17 degrees Celsius on Monday, with wind and rain making the commute particularly grueling for motorcyclists.
By 6 p.m., the Xa Dan axis was once again choked with traffic. Long lines of vehicles inched forward.
By 7:50 p.m., traffic on Hoang Hoa Tham Street in Ba Dinh District had become chaotic. Cars encroached into the opposite lane, forcing motorcyclists to squeeze through narrow gaps to pass.
