Ice, frost cover Fansipan as cold spell hits northern Vietnam

Quyen Anh Tuan, an employee of a tourist site on Fansipan, said frost first appeared in the early morning, starting from 2,990 meters above sea level all the way to the peak at 3,147 meters above sea level.

Ice and frost coated trees in certain areas, and more are being formed as temperatures remain below zero degrees Celsius, he added.

The drop in temperature was due to a mass of cold air moving towards northern and central Vietnam starting Thursday, bringing rain. As of Saturday morning, all northern localities recorded temperatures below 18 degrees, with certain mountainous areas seeing temperatures drop to 6-8 degrees.

Frost in April is considered a rare occurrence as it’s supposed to be a transition period from cold to hot. The last time frost appeared on Fansipan in April was in 2018.

Meteorologists said the mass of cold air would weaken over the coming days, raising daytime temperatures in northern Vietnam, but the night and early morning are still expected to be cold.