Besides southern regions, the cold front is also pummeling North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Daybreak in Inner Mongolia's Genhe city, brings thick fog and extreme cold.

Snow and ice coated roads and streets, keep both vehicles and residents moving at a slow pace.

Temperatures have plunged to minus 40 degree Celsius, 10 degrees lower than normal for the time of year.

Genhe resident said, "It's cold. Even my trousers were frozen after coming back from school."

All city sanitation workers in Genhe are provided with down jackets. Their working times have also been changed.

Zhao Binglin, Director of Genhe Urban Management Bureau, said, "Due to the weather, we moved the shift from 6 am to 8 am. Machines are used as much as possible. And we also tell them that if it's too cold, they can go to the nearby stores to warm up a little bit."

Amid the severe cold, heating has become extremely important.

Yang Shuijiao, Genhe resident, said, "The heating is working well. Compared to the minus 40 degrees outside, the temperature inside the house is kept above 20. "

To secure the heating supply, local authorities have made full preparations, in case of any pipe blast incidents.

Officials at the local meteorological center say the extreme cold will not ease until early next month.