A heatwave is forecast to hit north-central Vietnamese provinces starting Tuesday before expanding to northern localities.

The heatwave will affect the localities from Thanh Hoa Province to Thua Thien-Hue Province from Tuesday to Saturday, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

The highest temperatures will be around 35-37 degrees Celsius during this period.

Humidity will be quite low, about 35-50 percent.

The weather pattern poses a high risk of fires and explosions in residential areas as well as bushfires.

It can also cause dehydration, exhaustion, and heatstroke when people are exposed to high temperatures for a long time.

The hot weather will also hit the Red River Delta as well as northern Son La and Hoa Binh Provinces from Wednesday to Friday, with the average highs around 35-37 degrees Celsius.

In central and south-central provinces, the highest temperatures will be 34-36 degrees Celsius, while humidity will be between 45 and 55 percent.

Meanwhile, the ongoing hot weather in southern Vietnam will continue over the next few days.

The average highs will be 35-37 degrees Celsius, and humidity about 40-50 percent.

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A Vietnamese married couple had their scooter seized by police officers and will face punishment for performing acrobatics while riding at a dangerous bend on Hai Van Mountain Pass in central Vietnam.

Police officers in Phu Loc District, central Thua Thien-Hue Province said on Monday afternoon that they determined the couple in question include Nguyen The A., 35, and Nguyen Thi Kim Ng., 24, both of whom are local residents.

A 30-second video capturing A. and Ng.’s daredevil stunts circulated on social media on Sunday.

In the video, Ng. carried A. on the scooter while both were not wearing helmets at a double-hairpin bend on Hai Van Mountain Pass, which connects Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang City.

Then, A., from the passenger seat, leaned forward and held the handlebars to steer the scooter while his left leg was still left in the footrest for the back seat and the right leg was stretched out on the vehicle.

At that time, there were many vehicles running on Hai Van Mountain Pass, with some motorcyclists worried about the couple’s performance and pulling over to the side of the road for their safety.

The video drew the attention of police officers and prompted an investigation, which resulted in Phu Loc District officers’ summoning A. and Ng. to the police station. 

 According to their testimony, A. and Ng. are husband and wife and the scooter with the plate number 75K1-510.16 they used in the video is registered to Ng. at the district’s police office. 

The couple performed the acrobatics after they and a group of friends had just returned from bathing in a stream near Hai Van Mountain Pass.

The incident was recorded by a person at the site and posted on social media.

Phu Loc police officers seized Ng.’s scooter and handed the case over to their colleagues in Da Nang’s Lien Chieu District, where the bend is located, to handle the couple in accordance with the law for their dangerous and unsafe behavior on the street.

The 24km scenic and twisty road of Hai Van Mountain Pass is always a favorite of motorbike adventurers, with many reckless riders often showing off their riding skills there.

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The seriously-degraded, stinky state of public toilets has become an affliction for people in Hanoi, which has about 400 public bathrooms serving a population of more than 8.3 million.

Using public toilets has become a nightmare for people and tourists in the Vietnamese capital city.

At My Dinh Bus Station, one of the biggest bus depots in Hanoi handling thousands of passengers every day, many public toilets are overgrown with wild plants as observed by Tien Phong (Youth) newspaper reporters.

At the back of one of those bathrooms on Nguyen Hoang Street, a beverage stall has been established.

Inside the bathroom, there are two toilet compartments for males and females, with one of them being closed, accompanied by an overpowering stench.

In that sole operational toilet compartment, one broken urinal was unusable and sealed with a plastic bag.

The handle to flush the toilet was missing and the hand wash basin was not working.

After using the toilet, people have to use a bucket to pour water into it.

Despite all of those problems, toilet users are expected to give an employee stationed there from VND3,000 (US$0.13) to VND5,000 ($0.21) after every use.

The Tien Phong reporters witnessed the same situation at another public toilet along Trich Sai Street in Tay Ho District.

“This toilet is completely free, users don’t have to pay anything,” said Lieu, a sanitation worker there.

On the same street, a different public toilet designed with four stalls was closed on Sunday afternoon. 

According to a staff member, the toilet has just been repaired and cannot be used yet.

“There are really very few public toilets around this large West Lake,” said Nguyen Anh Minh after using a public toilet near the lake. 

“I had to go a long way before finding one here, but its quality is very poor as the inside is smelly and dirty. 

“I was reluctant to use it but I had no choice.

“After using it, I think I feel sick.”

As counted by Tien Phong, there are only two public toilets around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hoan Kiem District, insufficient for the large number of visitors to the top tourist attraction in the capital city. 

The outside of those two public toilets looked quite modern and new, but the inside smelled strongly and one of the doors was also broken.

People often have to get in line for their turn to use the restrooms.

“I find the smell here unpleasant and the number of people with demand are high,” said Hoang Hai Yen, 21. 

“Every time I step into similar public toilets across Hanoi, I feel disgusted.

“I hope Hanoi will build more public toilets in tourist destinations for residents and tourists to use.

“Moreover, public toilets need to be deodorized and cleaned more often.”

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