Beijing has held record low temperatures since 1951 with December being the coldest on record after a cold wave hit much of China.

Temperatures dropped below -10 degrees Celsius, alongside heavy snowfall and blizzards. The north and north-east of the country experienced the coldest temperatures as icy air moved south from the Arctic, with some areas dropping to -40C.

The Beijing Meteorological Observatory recorded a period of more than 300 hours in which temperatures remained below freezing, the longest for December since records began 72 years ago.

The cold forced the closure of many schools and businesses in the Chinese capital, due to travel disruptions and stress from additional heating demands. Temperatures have risen in the new year, but Beijing remains cold, with highs reaching just above freezing so far.

Scandinavia is also facing polar temperatures this week, with temperatures plummeting to -40C in places. The Kvikkjokk-Arrenjarka weather station in northern Sweden recorded -43.6 degrees Celsius in the early hours of Wednesday morning, making it the coldest January temperature Sweden has seen since a record -49 Celsius was set in 1999.

Snowstorms have disrupted travel in parts of Scandinavia, mainly in southern Sweden, where passengers in about 1,000 vehicles had to be rescued on Wednesday night after being trapped by heavy snow.