Cold weather has brought snow to the mountainous district of Sapa and threatens to destroy crops and livestock.
Luu Minh Hai, Director of the Lao Cai Province Hydro Meteorological Center, said that because of the prolonged cold spell, the temperatures in the district dropped to 1 Celsius in the early morning of February 19. Rain and snow fell and in just one hour, Sapa and its neighbouring areas were covered with snow. This the third snowfall on Sapa since December 2013.
Sapa covered in snow on February 19
However, because of previous rains, the snow melted quickly, leaving only places above 2.000 metres with copious snow, among them are the Hoang Lien Son mountain range and the O Quy Ho Mountain Pass.
The snow attracted many visitors, but also brought with it heavy damages for local farmers. Tens of billions of VND in crops and livestock were destroyed. About 62 buffalo died of the weather in Sapa, forcing people to butcher them and sell the meat along National Highway 4D to recoup some of the losses.
Selling buffalo meat on the highway
Crops being destroyed
In addition, frost and dry, cold weather damaged plant life and helped create conditions for a forest fire on Hoang Lien Son Mountain.
Weather forecasters predict that temperature will pick up in the delta, but remain lower than 10 Celsius in mountainous areas.
Tourists in Sapa
