More cold spells to strike Vietnam ahead of Lunar New Year holiday   People carry firewood in extremely cold weather conditions in northern Vietnam. Tuoi Tre Additional cold spells are anticipated to enter the northern part of Vietnam during the Lunar New Year holiday, bringing cold weather to the area and lowering the temperature in the south, according to a Vietnamese meteorologist. Two high-intensity cold fronts are forecast to hit northern Vietnam this week, causing temperatures to drop to as low as 12 degrees Celsius in the Red Delta and midland and four to seven degrees Celsius in mountainous localities, said Le Thi Xuan Lan, a meteorologist in Ho Chi Minh City. In tourist destinations at an altitude of above 1,500 meters, snow might fall as temperatures could plummet to zero degree Celsius but it will only cover a small area, Lan said. It will become warmer in northern Vietnam during the first days of the Lunar New Year, the meteorologist added. Vietnam’s Lunar New Year begins on February 8, with preparation and celebration taking place one week before and after the date. In the southern part of the country, including Ho Chi Minh City, temperatures will remain high, between 32 and 35 degrees Celsius, during the day before decreasing in the middle of the week as the cold snap in the north begins to influence the region, Lan said. The atmosphere will continue to be cool and pleasant until the third day of the Lunar New Year, or February 10, she added.   Le Thi Xuan Lan is seen in this photo. Photo: Tuoi tre     The effect of El Nino will persist until late April, the expert said, adding that the country will experience high temperatures and little rainfall under the impact of the phenomenon. However, the El Nino has passed its climax and is showing signs of weakening, thus temperatures in southern Vietnam will not return to a record high of 40.1 degrees Celsius in 1987 or 39.3 degrees Celsius in 1998, she noted. The northern part of Vietnam will continue to brace for cold fronts in February that will be less intense than the latest one, which caused the weather to get extremely cold and brought snow to some highland locales between January 23 and 29. Lan added that the cold spells will weaken the following months. Hai Van Pass, which crosses the border between Da Nang and Thua Thien-Hue Province in the central region, has blocked the cold snaps, leading to southern provinces and cities not significantly affected by the climatic events compared to those in the north. Lan explained that the cold spells that enter the north of Vietnam commonly affect its southern region about two days later with a milder intensity. TUOI TRE NEWS