China's Xinjiang battles harshest cold spell in over six decades
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BEIJING: Temperatures broke a 64-year-old record in China's far western region of Xinjiang, plunging to a bone-chilling minus 52.3 degrees Celsius amid a cold spell and traffic disruptions following the Chinese New Year holiday.
Several parts of China are battling another deep freeze as people return from week-long celebrations of the year's biggest holiday. Just before it started, blizzards and icy rain had stranded travellers on railways and roads.
State media said Sunday's milestone in the Tuerhong township of Fuyun county was the lowest since records began in Xinjiang, surpassing a temperature of minus 51.5 degrees Celsius set on Jan 21, 1960.
The figure was just shy of the lowest national temperature of minus 53 degrees Celsius in Mohe, a city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang on Jan 22 last year.
Through several days of cold and snow, 853km of roads have been affected in the region's area of Altay, broadcaster CCTV said. That spurred highway authorities to send 47 vehicles and 86 rescuers to remove snow overnight.
