An icy blast for China
Temperatures are tumbling across southern parts of the country.
As the New Year celebrations continue across China, the temperatures have suddenly dropped and a cold blast has brought snow and ice across the region.
In the southwestern Sichuan Province, the heavy snow started on Sunday evening.
Many people drove from the Sichuan capital Chengdu to the Ying Huashan Scenic Area to view the snow-covered landscape. Ying Huashan is a region of towering mountains and deep gullies, which attracts thousands of visitors every year.
Just to the east, in Huaying City, vehicles were stranded after the storm coated major highways with ice.
Even further south, snow forced roads to close in the Guangxi province, and temperatures have dropped below freezing.
Even normally temperate Hong Kong has seen the weather turn cold. The average temperature in the city in February is 19C, but on Monday and Tuesday the temperature didn’t climb over 9C, and the rain made sure it felt colder still.
Unfortunately for those living in the region, the cold blast isn’t over yet and temperatures will only slowly rise over the coming days.