Residents in mountainous provinces in the north of Vietnam have lost thousands of cattle after days of extreme wintry climate, the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control said Wednesday in a report.  

Nearly 2,000 cattle have died due to severely cold weather conditions since Sunday, according to the report.

A biting cold snap is hammering the northern region, bringing snow to many places, including some that have never had it before.

Northwestern provinces have been suffering the greatest damage, especially Son La and Lao Cai, which have lost 367 and 354 cattle, respectively, followed by Dien Bien, Yen Bai, and Lai Chau, where 311, 134, and 46 cattle have died due to the hazardous climatic events, the committee said in the report.

The frosty conditions have also inflicted a severe impact on localities in the northeastern region, leading to myriad livestock deaths in Cao Bang, Quang Ninh, Ha Giang, Hoa Binh, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, and Lang Son.   

In Lao Cai, the bizarre climate has threatened 4,473 hectares of cultivars, causing 217 hectares of industrial crops to wither and snow to envelop over 150,000 hectares of forest.

All vegetation areas in Mu Cang Chai, a district of Yen Bai Province, were completely covered with snow.

In Ha Giang, 150 hectares of vegetables, including lettuces, beans and potatoes, were severely damaged by the frigid weather.

Over 1,500 hectares of herbs cultivated in Hoang Su Phi and Vi Xuyen – two highland districts of Ha Giang – were also blanketed with snow.

About 407 hectares of rice paddies in Xiu Man District of Ha Giang are very likely to wither under freezing temperatures.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said that the cold spell has weakened after wreaking havoc on northern Vietnamese regions so it will be warmer from Friday onward.

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