The minimum temperature in China's northernmost city, Mohe, fell to minus 53 degrees Celsius on Sunday, marking the lowest temperature ever recorded. Mohe is known as "China's North Pole". It is located in the province of Heilongjiang, close to the Russian border.
According to the BBC, Sunday's temperature broke the long-standing 1969 record of minus 52.3 degrees Celsius. For three consecutive days, the city recorded temperatures below minus 50 degrees Celsius.
However, Mohe is no stranger to cold weather. As per the outlet, the city is regarded as the coldest in China, and its winter period usually lasts eight months. This time of the year, it is common for the city to see average temperatures of minus 15 degrees Celsius.
But with new record-breaking temperatures, China's meteorological authority has issued alerts for plunging temperatures and cold winds in the region. The local officials in the city are also working overtime to ensure heating and water services remain uninterrupted.
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According to China Daily, apart from Mohe, a number of areas in the Greater Khingan mountain range, which spans inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang, also recorded their coldest-ever temperatures.
Now, amid the extreme weather spell, Beijing News reported that coal consumption has increased by a third in the city. Tourists and local citizens are also being advised to keep warm and safe as the low visibility might cause traffic accidents.
Meanwhile, this comes days after temperatures plunged to minus 50 degrees Celsius in Russia's Yakutsk. Residents of the city, which is located 5,000 km east of Moscow on the permafrost of the Russian Far East, have been facing a harrowing time as they brave through long winter which often plunges the temperatures to well below minus 40 degrees regularly.
Experts have said that climate change has increased the likelihood of extreme weather in general.
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