The world’s worst flat-mate: Entire apartment block is covered in snow and ice after tenant leaves the front door open during -40C cold snap in China
- China’s northern Heilongjiang province experiences plunging temps in winter
- Huge sheets of ice coated building’s interior after snow blew through open door
A block of flats in China was transformed into a giant refrigerator after one tenant allegedly forgot to close the door on the week the province recorded its lowest ever temperature.
Shocking footage showed residents in winter gear gawking at the ‘snow cave’ that had formed near the hallway entrance of the building in Jiamusi city, Heilongjiang province on Friday, January 24.
Huge sheets of ice dangled from the doorframe and the ceiling after bitter winds blew snow through the doorway and coated the insides of the hall.
The residents can be heard expressing their amazement at the phenomenon as they braved temperatures of -40C.
Residents were gobsmacked when they discovered their apartment block had been transformed into a freezer
It came amid a cold snap which blighted much of Asia, sending the mercury plummeting in China, Japan and the Koreas.
On Sunday, just two days after the formation of the apartment ‘snow cave’, a town in the northernmost tip of Heilongjiang recorded a temperature of -53C – the lowest since records began.
China’s national meteorological agency last week urged citizens to bundle up warm as the freezing conditions threatened vulnerable residents throughout the central, northern and eastern parts of the country.
The cold weather hit many areas that are unaccustomed to such severe conditions, where residents typically experience much milder climes.
But the northern Chinese town of Mohe – known as ‘China’s North Pole’ – recorded three consecutive days of below -50C temperatures, which Chinese news outlets said was unprecedented.
Huge sheets of ice can be seen coating the inside of the apartment block after bitter winds blew snow through the open door
Wooden houses at snow village in Mohe County, Northernmost China. Mohe is one of China’s coldest places, regularly experiencing temperatures as low as -40C in winter
This picture taken on December 18, 2018 shows workers carving a dragon sculpture from snow and ice in preparation for the winter tourism season in Mohe in China’s northeast Heilongjiang province
Mohe is known for its freezing climes and is a renowned skiing and winter sports destination, with average temperatures in January and February sitting between -15C and -20C.
But the -53C temperature recorded on Sunday broke the previous all-time record of -52.3C.
China’s Xinhua News Agency said a number of areas in the Greater Khingan mountain range also saw new record low temperatures over the weekend.
By contrast, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the UK is -27.2C, set in different parts of Scotland in 1895, 1982 and 1995.