New record low temperatures were set in China today as the country faces a lingering cold wave that comes at the end of a year of extreme weather.

China’s National Meteorological Bureau announced that more than 20 stations in many parts of the country recorded historically low temperatures for the month of December in the early hours of today.

This was mainly recorded in Hohhot, the capital of the Inner Mongolia region in northern China, where the thermometer plunged as low as -29.1 degrees Celsius, breaking a record set nearly 70 years ago.

The authorities warned of low temperatures in a wide area in the north, east and south-east of the country.

This strong cold wave comes after a year marked by record heat and devastating floods, mainly in the northern part of the country.

Experts warn that climate change, caused by greenhouse gas emissions, is making these extreme weather events more frequent.

The National Meteorological Bureau had announced yesterday, Wednesday, that five stations in the country had recorded cold records, including a temperature of -33.2 in the city of Datong, in northern China.

In the northwestern province of Gansu, where an earthquake struck on Monday that killed more than 130 people, survivors are spending the night in large tents set up by rescue workers, trying to keep warm under blankets while outside very low temperatures prevail.