Authorities in Hanoi and other northern Vietnamese localities will allow local students to stay home if temperatures continue to drop due to the ongoing effect of a powerful cold spell.

Due to the cold front, the average lows in northern provinces and north-central Thanh Hoa Province dipped to about eight to 11 degrees Celsius on Sunday, extremely cold by local standards, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

The lows in mountainous areas were recorded at three to six degrees Celsius, and around zero degrees Celsius on high summits, which resulted in frost and sleet.

The weather pattern is expected to linger until the end of Tuesday.

In Hanoi, elementary and kindergarten students are allowed to stay home and switch to remote learning if the temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, said Tran The Cuong, director of the municipal Department of Education and Training.

The same will apply to middle school students if the mercury drops to below seven degrees Celsius, Cuong continued.

“Parents can watch the weather forecast at 6:00 am on VTV1 channel to get updates on the daily temperature,” the official elaborated.

In Quang Ninh Province, all kindergartens are closed from February 21 to 25 due to the frigid weather, according to Nguyen Thi Thuy, director of the provincial education department.

Students at local elementary schools will switch to online study during this period, Thuy added.

In Hai Phong City, elementary school and kindergarten students can stay home if the temperature is below 10 degrees Celsius, while middle schools will close if it is below seven degrees Celsius.

Similar safety measures are taken in Hai Duong Province with regard to elementary school and kindergarten students.

Regarding middle schools, it is up to the principals to decide whether their students should stay home.

Authorities in Phu Tho and Vinh Phuc Provinces have also suspended in-person learning at local elementary and middle schools from Monday until further notice.

Kindergartens can remain open depending on the demand of parents as well as the pandemic situation.

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