Cold Arctic air continues affecting parts of eastern Asia since Monday, December 3, 2018. While Beijing experienced one of the coldest December days on record, residents of the city of Mohe lived through the city's first-ever Red warning for cold weather.
High temperatures in China's capital Beijing were held close to -6 °C (21 °F) on December 7, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski. However, wind chill made it feel much colder, close to -18 °C (-0.4 °F).
The city's average high temperature in December is 4 °C (39.2 °F) while the average low temperature is close to -6 °C (21.2 °F).
Pydynowski said temperatures have been held under -4 °C (25 °F) on only 7 days since 2000. "Out of those days, only two had high temperatures near -6 °C (21 °F)," she said.
Similar weather gripped Seoul, South Korea, on Friday. The last time both cities failed to have a high temperature above freezing was February 11 and 12.
Temperatures will remain well below normal this weekend with areas from Beijing to Seoul again failing to reach 0 °C (32 °F) for a high temperature.
The city of Mohe, located in China's northernmost province - Heilongjiang, dropped to -43.5 °C (-46.3 °F) on December 6. City authorities said Mohe registered -41.1 °C (41.9 °F) on December 3, -42.1 °C (-43.7 °F) on December 4 and -43.5 °C (-46.3 °F) on December 5.
The provincial meteorological office issued city's first-ever Red warning for cold weather and Orange warning for cold weather for the entire province.
Mohe is one of the few locations in China with subarctic climate. Winter there starts in early October and lasts until late April. Its average temperatures remain below freezing for roughly 7 months of the year.
Chinese authorities said extremely cold temperatures may have a negative impact on local agriculture, transportation and logistics sectors.
Featured image: Mpemba effect - Heilongjiang, China. Credit: CCTV
