Frigid cold in China and Japan sets record low

Temperatures plunged in China and Japan. China’s northernmost city saw the temperature dip to minus 53 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature recorded in modern record for China. A spell of freezing weather also hit Japan in 10 years.

China’s northernmost city of Mohe saw its temperature dip to minus-53 Celsius, the lowest temperature recorded ever observed since 1969, breaking the previous coldest temperature on record of minus 52.3 degrees Celsius, according to the Chinese media outlet Tung Shun Wang on Tuesday. The city of Mohe is the northernmost city of China that is close to the Russian border. It is known as “China’s North Pole,” as its winter usually lasts eight months with its annual average temperature of minus 3 degrees Celsius.

Residents in Mohe are no strangers to cold weather, but it is unprecedented that temperatures dipped below minus 50 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days. The Tung Shun Wang reported that apartments in the city became a freezer, and some tourists even enjoy watching water splashed into the air to instantly turn into icy crystals. The Mohe city authority announced that it is on a special emergency duty to ensure that heating and hot water are not broken down.

Hit by the severest cold spell in a decade, Japan authorities issued a cold weather alert, warning people of extremely cold temperatures and heavy snow from Tuesday to Thursday. The Japanese transport ministry urged the public to refrain from unnecessary outings, as heavy snowfall may get them stranded. Heavy snowfall was forecasted through Japan. Tokyo is expected to see its temperature dip to minus-3 Celsius on Wednesday, with heavy snowfall. Niigata Prefecture is expected to see 90 centimeters of snow, 70 centimeters in outer Kanto and Kansai, and 40 centimeters in Hokkaido and northern Kyushu.


Ki-Yong Kim kky@donga.com