Farmers of Yen My Commune, Thanh Tri District, ride bicycles to bring vegetables to wholesale markets around the capital city. — Photo tuoitre.vn

It’s 2am in Yen My Commune, Thanh Tri District, one of the largest vegetable growing areas in Hanoi. While most people are snoozing happily under the covers, no matter how cold it is, farmers are up harvesting vegetables. Some kinds of vegetables must be harvested in the early morning to keep them fresh.

Loading fresh tomatoes, cauliflowers and cabbages into baskets attached to bicycles, they quickly go to wholesale markets like Mai Dong, Yen So and Van Dien to catch the early market session.

3-4am is the busiest time for wholesale markets in Hanoi. Vegetables are picked up by traders and loaded onto trucks to be shipped to every corner of the city.

The early morning session ends after two hours. Farmers then return to their farms and their vegetables, getting ready for the next day.

Nguyen Van Thinh, head of Village 3 residential area in Yen My Commune, said nearly 60 per cent of local households grew vegetables on about 50ha of land.

“Most of them are old people aged 55 to 70. The oldest farmers in the village are a couple aged 75. Young people have chosen other jobs,” he said.

“Growing vegetables is like raising a child. We can't let our children get damaged and throw them away. When they are mature, we have to sell them," Thinh said.

Selling at the market in the early morning helps each farmer earn about VND300,000-400,000 on a busy day, but on bad days, they may not be able to sell all their wares.

A 60-year-old woman named Ty told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that despite the pain in her legs, she still tries to ride the bicycle to the farm to harvest vegetables. Then her son-in-law helps her carry them by motorbike to the market. 

Mercury dropping

The entire northern region will experience a strong cold spell this week.

The cold wave is forecast to be expanded to the north-central and central regions, causing medium to heavy rains in several areas, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The northern and north-central regions are in the grip of biting cold, with the hardest hit being the northern mountainous provinces of Lao Cai, Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, Cao Bang and Bac Can where the mercury is dropping to about 7-10 degrees Celsius at the lowest and even hits below zero in mountainous areas. Frost and sleet are expected in some areas.

People in Hanoi have to burn fire to keep themselves warm at a streetside food stall. —VNA/VNS Photo Tuan Anh

The cold wave will lower temperatures to 13-17 degrees Celsius in central provinces from Quang Binh to Quang Ngai while the Central Highlands region will also experience cold weather.

In response to the cold conditions, weather forecast centres are asked to increase daily weather updates and reports, particularly in languages for ethnic minorities living in remote and mountainous regions, and provide advice to help people working outdoors protect themselves from cold weather.

Local authorities are urged to inform tourists about ice or frost-prone areas. Special warnings must be issued for tourists in at-risk areas.

Meanwhile, schools are advised to cancel classes and outdoor activities.  VNS

Another strong cold forecasted to hit northern Vietnam

The northern region would face another strong cold wave next week, according to the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.  

North ready for upcoming severe cold spell

According to the latest report from the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the chilling climate will strike the Northern mountainous provinces and then it will affect the North-Central and Central regions through next week.