아열대성 기후로 알려진 베트남 북부지역에 폭설이 내려 화제다.
베트남소리방송(VOV) 등 현지 언론은 16일(한국시각) 북부 라오까이성의 관광명소 사파지역이 대부분 눈으로 뒤덮였다고 보도했다. 짬떤 등 일부 지역에서는 최고 20cm의 적설량을 기록한 것으로 알려졌다.
보도에 따르면 현지 주민들은 지난 15일부터 해발 2200ｍ의 쎄(Xe) 산에 눈이 내리기 시작해 주변 지역과 상당수 도로에 5∼10㎝의 눈이 쌓였다고 전했다. 사파와 인근의 라이쩌우성을 잇는 고속도로 주변지역에도 영하권에 가까운 날씨가 이어졌다.
이에 따라 사파 산악지대의 정상 주변도로 약 5㎞ 구간에서는 극도의 교통혼잡이 빚어지기도 했다.
사진: 베트남 뉴스/ANN
<관련 영문 기사>
Tourists flock to see rare sight of snow in Sa Pa
LAO CAI (VNS) — Sa Pa Town in the northern province of Lao Cai, a major national tourist attraction, wears an even more attractive look now with snowfall of more than five centimetres.
Officials of the Nui Xe Forest Management Station in the town's Hoang Lien National Park say the snowfall has led to constant traffic congestion on the road from Lao Cai City to Sa Pa, as thousands of tourists flock to the town to admire the rare sight.
While it has been known for long that it snows in Sa Pa, this is not a common occurrence.
The Nui Xe Station said that it began snowing at around 9am yesterday.
It said that at a height of over 1,900m above sea level, temperatures had dipped to as low as minus two degrees Celsius, forming icy sheets 10-20cm thick.
Average temperature in Sa Pa remained low yesterday at about minus one degree Celsius, with constant heavy smog and drizzle.
Earlier, on Thursday, the province experienced heavy downpours of 30-50cm, and temperatures in Sa Pa dropped then to 5-7 degrees Celsius.
According to the Lao Cai Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre, another cold spell is expected to hit the province in the coming days.
The centre has also warned of strong winds, whirlwinds and hail storms that could threaten the lives and properties of residents.
Meanwhile, northern Viet Nam as a whole has experienced intense cold weather with temperatures ranging between 17 and 11 degrees Celsius. The temperature has dropped to below 10 degrees Celsius in a few mountainous areas, weather experts have said.
Provinces and cities in the north have also experienced mild to heavy rains over the last few days.
The National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting yesterday echoed provincial warnings that mountainous areas in the north should be prepared for the possibility of tornadoes, hailstorms and strong winds.
It said that the cold weather would extend to the central region and some places on the south-central coast today. — VNS (Vietnam News/ANN)
