China: Beijing, the capital of China, has had its coldest December since records dating back to 1951. This month, the city has seen multiple instances of temperatures below -10 °C.
Six months ago, Beijing experienced its hottest June day ever, with temperatures just over 40 °C. It has been an extreme year in the capital. This winter, China has already experienced multiple waves of bitterly cold temperatures. Henan, a province in central China, has experienced numerous system breakdowns.
According to the state media Beijing Daily, the official state media, the temperature at Beijing’s Nanjiao weather station surpassed zero degrees Celsius on Sunday afternoon for the first time in several days.
Earlier this month, two trains collided on a busy metro line in Beijing during snowy conditions, sending hundreds of commuters—many of whom had fractured bones—to the hospital, according to the city’s transportation authority.
The city will suspend heat supply for most businesses except essential service providers such as hospitals and senior centers to prioritize residential heat usage; however, some residential compounds will still be affected during the device maintenance period, as per the state-backed media report.
The central province’s weather authority reported that temperatures in several other parts of Henan would drop to a low of minus 15 C (5 F) over the weekend, with temperatures in the three cities predicted to reach sub-zero on Sunday.
The bitter cold also impeded the rescue operations following a fatal earthquake that struck northwest Gansu province this month. Huge snowfall has been experienced in some parts of northern Japan, and freezing temperatures have plagued South Korea.
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