Freezing Vietnam to enter another cold snap

[Watchman]

Freezing Vietnam to enter another cold snap
Saturday ,Jan 15,2011, Posted at: 15:39(GMT+7)


After enduring a freezing cold with temperatures in mountainous areas dropping to minus four degrees Celsius, northern Vietnam is to undergo another fresh cold snap starting Saturday.
Deputy Director of the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Center Le Thanh Hai said the new cold bout will drive down temperatures in mountainous provinces to under 10 degrees Celsius and even lower in higher mountainous areas.
Temperature in delta region provinces will dip to 11-12 degrees Celcius.
The Center also predicts an even stronger cold front on January 21 lasting until January 25.
The record low temperature this year had frozen over 7,000 buffaloes and cows to death in more than 12 northern mountainous provinces, said Deputy Head of the Livestock Breeding Department Nguyen Thanh Son on Friday.
In mountainous Lai Chau province, 160 new livestock deaths were reported, together with a staggering increase in cold-related cattle deaths in 11 other provinces.
Bac Kan announced there were an additional 300 livestock deaths, while Cao Bang province reported 700 deaths in one day, making a total number of 1,800 buffalos and cows killed under the province’s icy weather.
Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat urged northern provinces to take measures to protect livestock from prolonged icy weather on Friday.

 

[Watchman]

7000 Buffalo and Cows Die In Vietnam Freeze Hits Kids, Kills Livestock
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 1:00

Freeze hits kids, kills livestock

January, 12 2011

HA NOI — Prolonged icy weather has seen large numbers of people hospitalised and killed hundreds of buffalo and cows through exposure in northern mountain provinces while additional cold spells have been forecast for the area this month.

Deputy director of the National Hydro-meteorological Forecast Centre Le Thanh Hai said yesterday was the coldest day in the north so far this winter.

Damaging cold weather accompanied by light rain caused temperatures in Ha Noi to fall to a chill 7.6 degrees Celsius yesterday morning while it dipped to minus 2 degrees Celsius on Mau Son Mountain in Lang Son Province. The temperature is even lower than record one of 2008's cold spell.

The Ha Noi-based National Hospital of Paediatrics reported it had seen between 1,300-1,500 children daily, most of them suffering from respiratory infections, bronchitis and diarrhoea caused by viruses.

The hospital's respiratory ward has admitted more than 150 children although it has only 50 beds. A similar situation was replicated at the respiratory ward of Saint Paul Hospital in Ha Noi.

Most of the patients came from the provinces of Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Bac Giang, Vinh Phuc and Yen Bai.

An increasing number of adult patients have also visited hospitals to receive treatment for high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, respiratory disorders, asthma and rheumatism.

The National Geriatric Hospital has admitted more than 150 patients daily.

Doctor Nguyen Van Long said icy weather exacerbated existing chronic diseases, especially with those people suffering from high blood pressure.

The cold weather started on January 3. Two more cold snaps have been forecast to hit the north on January14-15 and 17-18 with the lowest temperatures dropping to between 5-8 degree Celsius