World’s Worst Roommate: Entire building covered in snow and ice after tenant left front door open during China’s -40C cold spell
- Heilongjiang province in northern China experiences plunging winter temperatures
- Huge indoor leaves covered in ice after snow blew through the open door
An apartment building in China has been transformed into a giant refrigerator after a tenant allegedly forgot to lock the door the week the province recorded its lowest temperature on record.
Shocking footage showed residents in winter gear gawking at the ‘snow cave’ that had formed near the hallway entrance to the building in Jiamusi city, Heilongjiang province on Friday, January 24.
Huge slabs of ice hung from the door frame and ceiling after strong winds blew snow through the door and covered the inside of the room.
Residents can be heard expressing their astonishment at the phenomenon as they braved temperatures of -40°C.
Residents were stunned when they discovered their building had been turned into a freezer
It came amid a cold spell that ravaged much of Asia, sending the mercury plummeting in China, Japan and Korea.
On Sunday, just two days after the apartment ‘snow cave’ formed, a town on the northern tip of Heilongjiang recorded a temperature of -53C – the lowest since records began.
China’s national meteorological agency last week urged citizens to warm up as freezing conditions threatened vulnerable residents across the central, northern and eastern parts of the country.
The cold weather has hit many areas unaccustomed to such severe conditions, where residents generally experience much milder climates.
But the city of Mohe in northern China – known as ‘China’s North Pole’ – has recorded three consecutive days of temperatures below -50C, which Chinese media have described as unprecedented .
Huge slabs of ice can be seen covering the interior of the building after biting winds blew snow through the open door
Wooden houses at Snow Village in Mohe County, far north China. Mohe is one of the coldest places in China, regularly experiencing temperatures as low as -40°C in winter
This photo taken on Dec. 18, 2018 shows workers carving a dragon sculpture out of snow and ice in preparation for the winter tourist season in Mohe, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.
Mohe is known for its freezing climates and is a renowned destination for skiing and winter sports, with average temperatures in January and February ranging between -15°C and -20°C.
But the temperature of -53°C recorded on Sunday broke the previous all-time high of -52.3°C.
Chinese news agency Xinhua said a number of regions in the Greater Khingan mountain range also recorded new record low temperatures over the weekend.
In contrast, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the UK is -27.2°C, set in different parts of Scotland in 1895, 1982 and 1995.
