Hoarfrost early yesterday morning on Fansipan Mountain in the northern mountainous province of Lào Cai due to the temperature dropping below 0 degrees Celsius. —VNA/VNS Photo Quốc Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Typhoon Krovanh – the 14th tropical storm to hit the East Sea this year – weakened into a tropical low-pressure system on Monday morning.

The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting said that by 10am the tropical low-pressure system was 270km east-northeast of Huyền Trân (Alexandra Bank) with the strongest wind speeds near its eye of 60km per hour.

The tropical low-pressure system was moving west-southwest at 10-15km per hour, the centre said.

The centre warned offshore vessels to avoid the dangerous area, stretching from latitude 7.0 to 11.0 degrees north and from longitude 108.0 to 114.5 degrees east, caused by the storm over the next 24 hours.

In another development, hoarfrost was reported early Monday morning on Fansipan Mountain in the northern mountainous province of Lào Cai due to the temperature dropping below 0 degrees Celsius.

This is the third hoarfrost to hit the mountain from the beginning of winter.

Director of the provincial Hydro-meteorology Forecasting Station Lưu Minh Hải said that on Sunday night, a strong cold spell caused temperatures to drop sharply on the mountain. The hoarfrost then appeared at heights of over 2,800m.

Hải said the temperature was forecast to continue dropping and the frost would be thicker on Fansipan Mountain.

Although the hoarfrost had yet to appear in the lowlands of Sa Pa Town, the agriculture sector actively took measures to minimise damage to crops and animals, he said.

Hải said hoarfrost was also believed to be a dangerous weather phenomenon because the temperature was cold enough to kill crops, seriously affecting agricultural production, he said.

Therefore, the authorities in Lào Cai Province recommended people to strengthen measures to protect crops, increasing resistance to cold weather conditions, he said.

People were instructed to harvest vegetables and not sow seeds on cold days with temperatures below 15 degrees Celsius, he added.

The localities were told to grow vegetables and crops that could adapt to natural calamities, he said.

Additionally, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Đặng Xuân Phong, recently signed an urgent message on proactive measures to protect local people, plants and animals from the cold weather.

He required authorised agencies to actively reserve seeds and fertiliser to promptly remedy the damage (if any) as well as mobilise forces to support people in protecting plants and animals. — VNS