The strongest cold blast of this winter has gripped large swathes of China as temperatures in Shanxi, Hebei, and Liaoning have plunged to their lowest levels on record on Sunday. 

Reuters cited a meteorological forecaster from the city of Yichun in Heilongjiang, located in the Northeast part of the country, who said temperatures could reach a record low of minus 47.9 C (minus 54.2 F) early next week. 

Bloomberg data shows average temperatures across China have plunged well below 30-year, 10-year, and 5-year trends for this time of year to about 27 C. 

"The weather in China, including Beijing, is the coldest December temperature in more than 50 years. Climate emergency warnings have been declared for extreme cold," Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and former NOAA chief scientist, wrote on X.

China's cold snap was quick and vicious. 

Meanwhile, Russia benefits from the "ongoing mega-blast of extreme cold," Maue said. 

On Friday, Chinese media Xinhua said President Xi Jinping urged "all-out efforts" in emergency response to the cold weather. 

While China freezes, weather blog Severe Weather Europe warned last week that "cold anomalies across much of the central, southern, and eastern United States" could begin after the new year.