Living in harsh weather of -3 degrees Celsius in the village in the clouds
VietNamNet•24/01/2024
During the three-day cold spell, people in Ngai Thau Thuong village (A Lu commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai), considered the highest village in Vietnam, are finding ways to adapt despite being familiar with the harsh weather. Ngai Thau Thuong village is located at an altitude of 2,300m, with a total of more than 90 households, most of whom are Mong people. The area is covered in clouds all year round, and the temperature often drops below 0 degrees Celsius every winter. The temperature in Ai Thau Thuong on January 23 was measured at -3 degrees Celsius, but there was no ice or snow yet. To combat the cold, people here live in houses with mud walls nearly 1 meter thick. Both the main door and windows are quite small.
Inside each family there is a fireplace in the middle of the floor, both for cooking and heating. Image at the house of Mr. Sung A Tung, gathered around the fireplace when the outside temperature is below 0 degrees Celsius. Mr. Tung said that his family mainly does farming, the harsh weather has delayed his and his wife's work, preventing them from going out to the fields.
In a small house built of mud walls, Ms. Vang Thi Mo (right) and her relatives sit sewing clothes, preparing for the upcoming Lunar New Year. The woman said that her family does not have any buffaloes or cows, but has prepared a lot of firewood in advance to keep warm.
Outside each house are piles of firewood of various sizes for cooking and heating.
When warned of temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius, people herded their buffaloes and cows home in advance, prepared food such as straw, stubble, or cooked hot bran to take care of them.
Ms. Thao Thi Tai said that to cope with this cold spell, 2 days ago she brought the buffalo back to the barn and prepared food. "If the temperature drops too low, there is also dry firewood available to burn for heating," Ms. Tai said. Some families have not yet grasped information about this cold spell, so when the weather turns cold, they start to lead their buffalo and cows away to avoid it. Dry firewood is indispensable to cope with severe cold. Although each family has plenty of firewood in reserve, people still proactively go out every day to collect more to prepare for a prolonged cold spell. A Mong woman ties bundles of grass she just cut from the mountainside onto a cart to feed her cattle because she cannot drive her buffalo to graze far away. Students in Ngai Thau Thuong village brave the cold rain to go to school.
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