Snow and ice may appear on Fansipan peak tonight
Engineer Luu Minh Hai, Director of the Lao Cai Province Hydrometeorological Station, said that due to the influence of strong northeast monsoon, there is a possibility of snow and ice on Fansipan peak and surrounding areas in Sa Pa on the night of January 9 and early morning of January 10.
Snow appeared on the top of Fansipan mountain on the morning of December 19, 2017. Photo: Fansipan Sa Pa cable car service company.
According to forecasts, during this same period, the temperature in Sa Pa town (1,590m above sea level) will drop to only 1 to 3 degrees Celsius, while in mountainous areas from 2,300m and above, the temperature will drop below 0 degrees Celsius.
According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the strong cold air mass reported from the North is still moving south. On the night of January 8, this cold air mass poured into Lao Cai province, causing widespread rain and light rain. The highest temperatures in the areas suddenly dropped by about 10 to 12 degrees Celsius compared to the previous day. Therefore, low-lying areas in Lao Cai quickly turned cold, while mountainous areas experienced severe cold for many days.
Therefore, tonight and early tomorrow morning, January 10, due to the influence of strong northeast monsoon, the temperature in Sa Pa town will drop to 1 to 3 degrees Celsius; areas with altitudes above 2,000m will have temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius. Snow and frost are likely to appear on Fansipan peak and surrounding areas. It is predicted that frost and snow will last for 2 days, followed by damaging frost lasting from 3 to 4 days.
Frost and snow are special weather phenomena that only appear in subtropical monsoon microclimates such as Sa Pa and Y Ty (Lao Cai province), creating a wonderful natural landscape in winter that attracts many tourists to visit and explore, but is harmful to local life and agricultural and forestry production.
Therefore, the People's Committee of Lao Cai province and districts in the province have issued an urgent dispatch directing all levels and sectors to guide people to proactively prevent cold damage to people, crops and livestock. Schools in Sa Pa allow students to stay home when the weather is 6 degrees Celsius, move cattle from high mountains to lowlands to avoid long-term cold, and do not let large livestock go outdoors when the temperature drops to 12 degrees Celsius...
However, up to now, more than 100 cattle and buffaloes have died of cold in Lao Cai province, mainly old and weak cattle and young calves. Sa Pa and Bat Xat districts are the localities with the most dead cattle.
Due to the deterioration of the road and the appearance of thick fog, in recent days, National Highway 4D from Lao Cai to Sa Pa and Lai Chau has been continuously congested, causing difficulties for tourists visiting Sa Pa.
Snow covers the Hoang Lien forest - Sa Pa. Photo: Hoang Lien National Park
It is forecasted that the Sa Pa and Y Ty mountainous areas will experience frost and snow, which will cause a surge in the number of tourists to Lao Cai province; therefore, there must be a plan to ensure traffic safety, especially on the O Quy Ho pass from Sa Pa town to Binh Lu area (Lai Chau province).
Ky Son: Water freezes, trees dry up due to cold
(Baonghean.vn) - In recent days, frost has appeared in some areas of the mountainous border district of Ky Son. Although today (December 21) the weather has gradually warmed up, the water is still frozen and trees are showing signs of drying up due to the cold.
