Hong Kong has experienced its coldest day in 59 years at three degrees Celsius.

“It is very cold and windy over Hong Kong. People are advised to put on warm clothes and to avoid prolonged exposure to wintry winds,” read a statement on a city government website.

On Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s tallest mountain, it was 2 degrees Celsius early in the morning, and temperatures kept on dropping to about six degrees below freezing. The fire service had to come to the rescue to treat more than 65 frost chasers and race participants – a 100-KM ultra trail race took place during the night – with symptoms of hypothermia.

Forty five persons were sent to hospital but many were released by the end of the day. Meanwhile many people came to enjoy and experience the ice cold.

Photo AFP

Meanwhile, the South Korean island of Jeju has seen its biggest snowfall in three decades, causing hundreds of flights to be canceled.

Jeju is a popular holiday destination and thousands of visitors are reported to have been left stranded.

All 517 flights scheduled for January 24 were canceled, as well as about 60 on January 25, following 4.3in of snow.

In Japan, the Kyodo news agency said five people had died and more than 100 had been injured in weather-related accidents across the country in the past 24 hours.

Transport services continue to be disrupted.

The agency also said it had snowed in Amami Island, a subtropical island 235 miles south-west of Kagoshima City, for the first time in 115 years.

China has issued its second highest weather alert amid the coldest weather in decades.

The state-run People’s Daily said on its Weibo social media account that the city of Guangzhou had recorded its first snowfall since 1929.