China just saw its coldest temp on record: Minus-63

On Sunday, China's northernmost city of Mohe saw the temperature dip to minus-63.4 degrees (minus-53 Celsius). That's the coldest temperature measured in the country during modern times, the local meteorology bureau confirmed.

Nestled near Russian Siberia, Mohe is an unusual location in China with a subarctic climate. While this city of nearly 85,000 is typically cold, the chill over the weekend was truly exceptional - or approximately 36 degrees (20 Celsius) below normal.

The low temperature was recorded by an automated temperature sensor; it surpassed the previous national record of minus-62.1 (minus-52.3 Celsius) from 1969.

Cold extremes such as these have become uncommon in recent decades because of humancaused climate change. Global warming decreases the frequency and intensity of historic cold spells, but it does not eliminate them.

The historic cold in China comes in stark contrast to its most extreme heat wave on record observed this past summer.

Nearby weather stations also registered extraordinarily low temperatures.

Another weather station in Mohe, staffed by an observer, registered a low of minus-59.4 degrees (minus-50.8 Celsius). That was the coldest in China since 1969, tweeted climate historian specialist Maximiliano Herrera. Temperatures at this station fell to at least minus-58 degrees (minus-50 Celsius) for three straight nights for only the second time on record.

At least 18 weather stations dipped to minus-58 degrees (minus-50 Celsius) or lower in China on Sunday morning, tweeted climate specialist Jim Yang. The cold has eased somewhat since, but numerous readings of minus-40 degrees (minus-40 Celsius) or lower were observed Monday.

Other locations in China, including Huzhong at minus-57.6 degrees (minus-49.8 Celsius) and Tahe at minus 54.2 degrees (minus-47.9 Celsius) also broke records Saturday.

Extremely cold air also visited eastern Siberia. The temperature in Aldan - a town with just over 20,000 people - dipped to minus-58 degrees (minus-50 Celsius) over the weekend. That surpassed the city's previous record low of minus-55.7 degrees (minus-48.7 Celsius), according to Etienne Kapikian, a meteorologist with France's meteorological agency, Meteo France.

The frigid air is now on the move eastward. It is set to spread over eastern China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula and parts of eastern Russia on Tuesday and Wednesday. In many of these places, it will be the coldest weather of this winter so far.