An intense wave of cold air will affect the northern region, causing temperatures to plummet. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF), on Friday afternoon and night, an intense wave of cold air will affect the northern region, causing temperatures to plummet.

Vũ Tuấn Anh, a forecaster of the Weather Forecasting Department at NCHMF, said that from Saturday morning, the northern and north central coast regions will experience extremely low temperatures across a wide area. Temperatures in the Delta will drop to 10 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees lower than a day earlier.

During Sunday night and the next four days, the temperature in the mountains will dip to 3-5 degrees Celsius, especially in provinces such as Lạng Sơn, Hà Giang, Lai Châu, Sơn La, and Cao Bằng. Meanwhile, the high mountainous area will likely record a temperature of approximately 0 degrees.

Since this is a dry cold spell, sleet will not occur. Instead, people in these areas need to beware of frost that can harm livestock and crops.

According to the temperature chart, the northeast mountainous areas will be most affected by the cold front on Friday night. The cold air then expands its influence over other areas.

Notably, the cold front will cause the temperature difference between day and night to increase. In the Delta, the temperature on the nights of December 17-19 is forecast at 8-10 degrees Celsius and it gradually increases to 20 degrees Celsius during the day. The period of high temperature is relatively short, ranging from 11-15 hours. At the same time, the humidity in the air in the areas continues to drop, and increased dryness causes discomfort.

The coldest time in this wave is Sunday when the northern region is immersed in cold and dry air. At this time, the temperature in Hà Nội will fluctuate between 11-13 degrees Celsius, and the cold will persist day and night.

On December 19-22, the daytime temperature in the capital slowly increases to 16-19 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the night temperature will drop to as low as 8 degrees Celsius.

Cold air will also affect the north central coast region, causing severe cold on December 19-23.

On December 16-22, the central coast and south central coast regions are forecast to have thunderstorms. After that, the area turns cold at night and early in the morning.

Before the development of the robust cold air wave, the Standing Office of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control sent a document to localities in the northern and north central coast regions.

Localities must actively implement measures to ensure the safety of citizens, especially the elderly, children and students.

People are strongly advised not to use coal stoves for heating in closed rooms to avoid unfortunate incidents that cause loss of life, as has happened in recent years.

At the same time, households are told to clean, strengthen barns, cover to keep livestock warm, proactively store food to prevent hunger and cold, and move livestock from freely grazing to cages in critical situations to ensure safety.

Notably, localities need to proactively inform and guide visitors and tourists and strengthen warnings on roads that are likely to be icy and slippery to ensure safety for people and vehicles. — VNS