Northern Vietnam in coldest spell since winter begins

While the rains have subsided and the sky has been clearer, the ongoing presence of a mass of cold air still kept temperatures in the north low. At 6 a.m. Monday, save for certain areas, all 25 northern Vietnam localities recorded temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The peaks of Mau Son, around 1,500 m above sea level, saw temperatures at minus 1 degree, or 0.5 degree lower than the previous day. Snow and ice covered the ground and coated trees in the area.

Mountainous areas of Dien Bien, Son La, Ha Giang and Vinh Phuc all saw lower temperatures from the previous day, down to 2 degrees.

In plain and coastal regions of Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh and Hai Phong, temperatures were recorded at 7 degrees, while areas in Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Hai Duong and Ha Nam were at 7 degrees. Temperatures in Hanoi were recorded to be at around 8 degrees.

Central Vietnam regions from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien-Hue also saw temperatures between 8 and 14 degrees, with the Quy Hop Mountains in Nghe An at around 7 degrees.

For the rest of Monday, Hanoi may see temperatures rising to 13 degrees while Sa Pa of Lao Cai may see temperatures at 4 degrees, according to the center.

U.S. weather forecast service AccuWeather anticipated Hanoi’s temperatures on Monday to be between 9-11 degrees, before rising slowly towards the end of the week to 21 degrees in the weekend.

A mass of cold air entering Vietnam starting Feb. 18, combined with rains, has plunged northern Vietnam regions into the coldest spell seen since the beginning of winter. It was an abnormal pattern: normally January would be colder than February.

Experts say average temperatures across the country in March and April might be about 0.5 degree lower than previous years.