Northern, north central localities asked to brace for cold snaps

The Office of the Steering Committee for Natural Disasters Prevention and Control has asked northern and north central localities to update developments of cold spells on means of communications to help people, especially those in mountainous areas, take countermeasures.

Northern provinces and localities from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue are forecast to continue to face the cold snap until February 7. (Photo: VNA)

In a notice sent to the municipal and provincial steering boards for natural disaster prevention and search and rescue on February 1, the office urged the agencies to intensify communication work to guide farming households how to consolidate breeding facilities, keep animals warm and reserve cattle feed during cold snaps.

At the same time, farmers should follow production schedule of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and protect crops from impacts of the severe weather, the office said.

Northern mountainous localities have been suffering the greatest damage, especially Cao Bang and Lao Cai provinces, which have lost 666 and 440 head of livestock, respectively. They are followed by Dien Bien province with 400 cattle and Hoa Binh with 250 cattle.

A cold wave which hit the northern region on January 28 has lowered temperatures in the northern and northern central localities. The cold snap is expected to last for 10 days. Another intense cold spell hit the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on January 31 with the temperature going down to 1.2 degrees Celsius. At 8:00 am on January 31, snow started to fall on the Fansipan mountain, which is the highest in Indochina at 3,143m, then on the area of Bac (Silver) waterfall – about 12km from Sa Pa town, Lao Cai province.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, northern provinces and localities from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue are forecast to continue to face the cold snap until February 7, with temperature dropping to 8-11 degrees Celsius in the delta and 5-8 degrees Celsius, even 3 degrees Celsius, in mountainous areas.

(Source: NDO)