Cold waves sweep across parts of China

Cold waves have swept across parts of China since Wednesday with snowfalls and plunging temperatures. Temperature in the city of Genhe, of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, dropped to -46.2 degrees Celsius (-51.2 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday and the city was shrouded in ice fog, official CCTV reported.

In the northeast Heilongjiang province, the temperature plunged to -45.9 C (-50.6 F), CCTV said. Cold waves are also hitting central and southern parts China, bringing snow and frost, according to CCTV. Many regions have seen the temperature dropping to 0 C (32 F) and snowfalls have left white slippery mountainous roads.

In Beijing the temperature dropped to -19.6 C (-3.28 F) on Thursday, breaking a previous cold weather record set in 1969. Beijing's meteorological department issued a forecast that the city's temperature will remain low until January 13, and the night-time temperature will be lower than -10 C (14 F) during this period.