Monitoring Desk
MOHE, CHINA: Mohe, the northernmost city in China, recently had its coldest weather.
Mohe, often known as “China’s North Pole,” is located in the Heilongjiang province, not far from the Russian border. Its local weather station noted a record-low temperature of -53C (-63F) at 7 am on Sunday. The city’s previous record-low temperature was -52.3C in 1969. The temperature, though, is still below China’s all-time high. In the city of Genhe, Inner Mongolia, in December 2009, a temperature of -58C was reported as the lowest in China.
However, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the UK was -27.2C, recorded in various locations in Scotland in 1895, 1982, and 1995.
Mohe no stranger to the coldest weather
According to China Daily, the city is the coldest in all of China, and its winter season “often lasts eight months.” It draws tourists all year long due to its “North Pole,” ice and snow parks, and skiing locations. Winter marathons have also been held there in the past. The city often experiences average temperatures of -15C at this time of year.
China’s weather agency has warned of freezing temperatures and cold winds in the area for the previous week.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, the Greater Khingan mountain range, which extends over Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang, reached new record low temperatures over the weekend.
According to Beijing News, as the cold winter sets in, coal use in the city has climbed by one-third. Car manufacturers also said that they used the cold to test the braking capabilities of their vehicles. CCTV, the official broadcaster, showed a journalist cracking an egg on an outdoor surface, which immediately led the egg to freeze. More generally, the media is praising essential workers who work outside in the cold weather, such as police officers, firefighters, soldiers, and street cleaners.
Earlier this month, the Xinhua news agency reported that the country had had the warmest summer and autumn in 60 years, with many cities shattering records. Climate change increases the likelihood of extreme weather in general. While experts agree that global temperatures are rising, this does not indicate that we will no longer experience periods of extreme cold.
