While the biting cold that has killed cattle en masse in northern Vietnam will continue until this weekend, the temperature in the southern region has sharply declined down to 15.6 degrees Celsius, the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Center reported.

>> Sa Pa shivers in heavy snowfall The weather pattern in which it is frosty at night and early morning but sunny during the day will continue in northern provinces until this weekend, said Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the center. Affected by a cold front, northern Vietnam has been cloudless since January 14 and there has been a drastic difference in temperatures during the day and night. On January 17 or 18, there will be another cold front but it is not strong enough to further lower the current temperature in the region. However, in the coming days, mountainous areas at an elevation of 1,500 meters above sea level may suffer from hoar frost that can harm plants.Cows die en masse Meanwhile, the past two freezing cold periods have killed nearly 500 cows in Sa Pa and Bat Xat Districts in Lao Cai Province, Dinh Thi Xuan, head of the Breeding Division of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reported. This year’s winter has seen more severe weather conditions than previous ones, with snowfall occurring as early as mid December, Xuan said. In Lai Chau province, hundreds of cows have also died and 130 hectares of rice and other crops have been damaged due to the chilling cold, the local authorities reported.  

One of the nearly 500 cows that have died in northern Lao Cai Province during the past few days (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

The provincial government has given local residents a support of VND4 million (US$192) for each cow lost due to weather.  In another northern province, Ha Giang, 1,340 hectares of industrial plants had been damaged by Wednesday afternoon because of biting cold and snowfall, authorities said. A lot of farming land and grassland areas have also been damaged and a number of cows have died in the province.Temperature drops to 15.6 degrees Celsius in South

On Wednesday, the temperature in many locations in southern Vietnam decreased to the lowest levels since the beginning of this year, said Nguyen Minh Giam, deputy director of Southern Hydro-meteorological Station. In Long Khanh town, Dong Nai province, the temperature dropped to 15.6°C on January 15, 2-3°C lower than that of previous days. In Ho Chi Minh City, the temperature also declined to 18°C on Wednesday and to 17°C early this morning, January 16. Yesterday the lowest temperature in the southwestern region was recorded at 19.6°C in Long An. In Chau Doc town of An Giang Province, the temperature was 19.9°C and in other localities in the region it was about 20°C. The cold weather will go on in the southern region for several days to come before it begins to be warmer, the station said.