Chinese capital Beijing breaks record for hours of sub-zero temperatures

The Chinese capital Beijing broke its nearly 75-year record for hours of sub-zero temperatures in the month of December after a cold wind tore through the city bringing the temperature down to record lows.

The northern and northeastern parts of the country were most affected by the biting cold air that flowed down from the Arctic, as some areas recorded a historic dip with the northeast hitting minus 40 Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit) and below.

A weather observatory in Beijing had as of Sunday, recorded more than 300 hours of below-freezing temperatures since Dec 11, which is the most for the month since records began in 1951, as per the state-backed Beijing Daily.

The Chinese capital has also faced temperatures below minus 10 C (14 F) for nine days in this period, news agency Reuters reported citing the Beijing Daily.

Several cities in the central Chinese province of Henan, southwest of Beijing, are in the grip of a winter heating supply crunch, with thermal power suppliers in the city of Jiaozuo under pressure to ensure supplies.

Heating boilers at JiaoZuo WanFang Aluminum Manufacturing, which is one of the major suppliers in the city, broke down which left some areas in urgent need of more heat supply, news agency Reuters reported citing state media.

Meanwhile, two other cities in Henan – Puyang and Pingdingshan, have already suspended heat supply to government departments and administrative institutions in order to make way for residential usage, said the local governments taking into consideration the extremely cold weather.

The weather forecast indicates temperatures in the three cities descending to sub-zero on Sunday. Temperatures in several other areas in Henan would drop to a low of minus 15 C (5 F) over the weekend, the central province’s weather authority said on Saturday.

(With inputs from agencies)