Nghe An highland temperature drops to 1 degree Celsius

Temperatures drop sharply at night and early morning

On the morning of January 30, Ms. Vu Y Lau in Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district said that at 5:00 a.m., the temperature in Pha Xac village dropped to 1 degree Celsius. According to Ms. Vu Y Lau, this is a record low temperature in Huoi Tu in recent years, causing people to shiver in the cold and limit going outside if not necessary.

In the house, people have to burn more firewood to keep warm and cover the doors to avoid drafts. Especially children, people have to wear more warm clothes, many families with young children in kindergarten let their children stay home from school to avoid the cold.

People buy warm clothes, gloves, and scarves at the central market of Huoi Tu commune to cope with the record low temperature. Photo: Quoc Son

Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Huoi Tu Commune Ha Ba Ly said that in the morning, the temperature dropped to a record low and only gradually increased towards noon. By 10am, the temperature had risen to 3-4 degrees and continued to be very cold. Therefore, in addition to advising people to take measures to protect the health of family members, commune officials also reminded people to strengthen cold prevention for livestock and poultry.

In Na Ngoi commune, early morning of January 30, the temperature in the central villages reached 4-5 degrees, while in the villages bordering Laos at night it was only 1-2 degrees.

As in Ky Son district, the remote communes of Tuong Duong and Que Phong districts such as Nhon Mai, Mai Son, Tri Le... all had low temperatures at night and early morning. In the border villages of Tri Le commune, Que Phong district, at 7:00 pm on January 29, the temperature dropped to 3 degrees, causing severe cold.

Temperature in Huoi Tu commune at 6am on January 30. Photo: Provided by local people

Proactively take measures to prevent and fight the cold

Huoi Tu is a mountainous commune, 24 km from the center of Ky Son district, with 1,014 households and 4,802 people living in 13 villages; the commune identifies a strength in raising livestock and poultry. The number of livestock and poultry in 2022 in Huoi Tu increases steadily every year. Specifically, the buffalo herd has 789 heads, an increase of 214 heads over the same period last year; the cow herd reaches 2,724 heads; the pig herd has 302 heads, an increase of 87 heads over the same period last year, and the poultry herd has 11,350 heads. Therefore, every year, the People's Committee of Huoi Tu commune has a specific plan to thoroughly inform each household to proactively prevent and protect livestock and poultry from the cold, minimizing damage caused by the weather.

Similarly, in Muong Long commune, a locality located in a mountainous area with an average altitude of about 900m above sea level, people mainly live on agricultural production, of which some effective and stable incomes have been built, such as: the model of planting elephant grass and Japanese grass to fatten buffalo and cows; the model of raising local black chickens and black pigs.

People in Ky Son district increase food to prevent cold for buffaloes and cows. Photo: Lu Phu

Vice Chairman of Muong Long Commune People's Committee Vu Ba Xu said that the commune currently has a total herd of 15,378 livestock and poultry, of which 568 buffaloes, 2,469 cows, and 11,874 poultry. In addition, people also raise goats, horses, and pigs. "From February 19 to 23, 2022, severe cold occurred, killing 31 buffaloes and cows of the people, causing an estimated loss of 334 million VND. Therefore, at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, the Commune People's Committee proactively guided and advised people to prevent and protect their livestock from the cold to limit damage," said Mr. Vu Ba Xu.

Ky Son district is a locality with a large livestock herd, with over 53,000 buffaloes and cows, nearly 30,000 pigs, and 20,000 goats. In 2022, due to the impact of severe cold in winter, people's livestock often suffered damage with nearly 1,000 buffaloes and cows dying. Therefore, the district regularly directs people to proactively take measures to prevent and combat the cold.

In the whole province, by the end of 2022, the total herd of buffaloes and cows is estimated at 789,000, an increase of 1.68%; the total herd of pigs is estimated at 1.1 million; the total herd of poultry is estimated at 32.5 million, an increase of 16.08% over the same period in 2021. The output of fresh meat for slaughter is estimated at 282,000 tons, an increase of 4.44% over 2021. With the number of livestock and poultry increasing steadily every year, cold prevention and control work is always regularly implemented.