6 am - the temperature isonly 9 to 10 Celsius degree. Many people are still curled up in bed. Yet manual labourers in Long Bien wholesale market have been working since midnight.

Nguyen Thi Lan, a seller in Phuc Xa ward, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi shared "I have to put on warm clothes to put up with the frosty weather out there. I usually have to leave my house by 3am; for colder days, maybe 4."

"We have to work regardless of the bitterly cold weather. We cannot take any days off as we have to cover daily living fees. So I have to wear thick layers of clothes then go to work" said Dao Thi Van, a migrant worker from Hung Yen province

For motor-taxi drivers, chilly weather is also a daily enemy. Gauze masks, scarves and gloves have become their weapons against the winter breeze.

Lam Ngoc Ban, a motor-taxi driver in Phuc Xa ward, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi told " My throat easily gets sore when it’s cold. Without wearing gauze masks, I can get sick immediately so I have to prepare clothes very carefully."

Cold winds also greatly impact people’s daily activities. Many stay at home at the weekends to avoid the cold.

For those who have to work outside at the weekends to make ends meet, they even have to set fires to keep their body warm while sitting idle.

Trần Quảng Nam from the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting reckoned that " This cold period is so strong that the air is very dry. The weather is harsh as it is freezing in early mornings and late nights yet sunny by day."

Recent days have witnessed the strongest cold wave this winter, with more elderly people and small kids getting sick. Let’s wish those people who are working outside good health to do their jobs.-VNA