Beijing records most hours of sub-zero temperatures in December since 1951
Northern and northeastern parts of the country have experienced a record-breaking chill since last week, with some areas in the northeast hitting minus 40 Celsius (minus 40 Fahrenheit) and below as biting cold air flowed down from the Arctic.
As of Sunday, a weather observatory in Beijing had recorded more than 300 hours of below-freezing temperatures since Dec. 11, the most for the month since records began in 1951, according to state-backed Beijing Daily.
The capital has also endured nine consecutive days of temperatures below minus 10 C (14 F) in this period, the Beijing Daily added.
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, one of the major suppliers in the city, have broken down, leaving some areas in urgent need of more heat supply, state media reported on Sunday.
The supplier is scrambling to fix the malfunction and expects to resume supply on Dec. 26, state media reported, without specifying the number of boilers that have broken down.
JiaoZuo WanFang Aluminum did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters.
The city will suspend heat supply for most businesses except essential service providers such as hospitals and senior centres to prioritise residential heat usage. However, some residential compounds will still be affected during the device maintenance period, the media reports added.
Two other cities in Henan — Puyang and Pingdingshan — have already suspended heat supply to
