Chinese capital, Beijing, experiences its coldest December since records began in 1951

The Chinese capital, Beijing, has experienced its coldest December since records began in 1951. Temperatures in the city have frequently fallen below -10C this month. It has been a year of extremes in the Chinese capital. Six months ago, Beijing recorded its hottest ever June day, at just over 40C. China has been hit by several waves of extremely cold weather already this winter.

A Beijing weather observatory recently recorded more than 300 hours of below-freezing temperatures in under two weeks, according to the state-backed China Daily news agency.