Beijing shivers through most hours of sub-freezing temperatures in December in 72 years

Beijing has recorded the most hours of sub-freezing temperatures in December in 72 years as a cold wave and snowstorms enveloped northern and central China.

A weather observatory in the Chinese capital had recorded more than 300 hours of sub-freezing temperatures as of Sunday, local time.

It is the most since records began in 1951.

The city saw nine consecutive days with temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius.

Parts of northern and central China has shivered through frigid temperatures this month, with schools and highways forced to close several times due to snow storms.

On Christmas eve, several cities in the central province of Henan faced a winter heating supply shortage.

Persistent cold snaps have put thermal power suppliers under strain in Jiaozuo, a city in Henan, with a breakdown of heating boilers in one of the major suppliers leaving some areas in urgent need of more heat supply.

JiaoZuo WanFang Aluminium Manufacturing, the supplier, is scrambling to fix the malfunction and expects to resume supply on December 26, state media reported, without specifying the number of boilers that have broken down.

JiaoZuo WanFang Aluminium did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from Reuters.

The city suspended 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 said.

Separately, the cities of Puyang and Pingdingshan, also in Henan, have already suspended heat supply to government departments and administrative institutions to prioritise residential usage, the local governments said, citing extremely cold weather.

Story By: AP/Reuters

Original Story link: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-26/beijing-sees-most-hours-of-sub-freezing-temperatures-in-december/103264704