Hong Kong chills on social media: foolhardy frost chasers, ice selfies, videos and pictures of our coldest day for 60 years
Instagram, Facebook and Twitter experience a blizzard of entertaining posts as temperatures plummeted to 3.3C
Hong Kong has seen its coldest day since 1957 - but that hasn’t stopped locals from getting out to enjoy the cold snap.
Social media was flooded with photographs, videos and amusing posts as temperatures plummeted to 3.3C yesterday, in a city where most homes lack central heating.
Hongkongers were warned to put on extra layers as the wind picked up.
A government spokesman said: “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.”
But some decided to ignore the advice and ventured up the The Peak in search of snow.
A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀莫茱迪Judy Mok (@judymok) on Jan 24, 2016 at 7:01am PST
There were hilarious scenes as a group of intrepid ramblers struggled to remain upright as they hiked into the hills.
A video posted by ikagilang (@ikagilang_dsl_hongkong) on Jan 24, 2016 at 4:27pm PST
Others preferred to hibernate indoors and shared their thoughts on the events as they curled up in blankets.
READ MORE: Hong Kong shivers through its coldest day since 1957: kindergartens, primary schools closed today
One Instagram user took a humorous approach to the big freeze - comparing his battle with the cold to Leonardo Dicaprio’s plight in Hollywood film The Revenant.
A photo posted by @smadanay on Jan 24, 2016 at 4:37pm PST
Another person shared a picture of Matt Le Blanc’s character Joey in popular sitcom Friends wearing multiple jumpers as she mused on her winter wardrobe.
A photo posted by Astha Sindher (@asthasindher) on Jan 24, 2016 at 8:46am PST
Some Hongkongers simply decided to share selfies of themselves wrapped up for the intense wind chill.
READ MORE: Polar vortex hits Hong Kong: record low temperatures close schools, hospitalise 45, injure 111, trap 130 on Kowloon Peak
And some shared screenshots of weather charts which showed how Hong Kong’s climate fared in comparison with the rest of the world.
A photo posted by JJ Minder (@jj_minder) on Jan 24, 2016 at 3:18pm PST
A video posted by Daniel Wu (@thatdanielwu) on Jan 23, 2016 at 8:27pm PST
A photo posted by Evvula (@evvula_maylina) on Jan 24, 2016 at 9:47am PST
This clip shows just how stubborn, spoiled, selfish, stupid some people can be:Cop says "It is dangerous and the road...
Posted by Maggie Chu on Sunday, January 24, 2016
A photo posted by Charles Kwong (@iamcharleskwong) on Jan 24, 2016 at 4:00pm PST
About 20 participants of a cross country race were sent to hospital after experiencing symptoms associated with hypothermia.
Weather forecasters have said conditions will not warm up until the middle of this week.
On Sunday, senior scientific officer Wong Wai-kin told AFP: “It is the coldest day since 1957. The daily minimum dropped to 3.3 degrees Celsius, the previous record was 2.4 degrees in February of 1957.”
According to the Hong Kong Observatory, the coldest weather occurred in January 1893, when temperatures plunged to 0 C.
READ MORE: Cold comfort: Hong Kong’s most vulnerable people forced to stay outside in bone-chilling weather
For those less fortunate Hong Kongers living on the streets, the cold snap meant even tougher conditions as they struggled to keep warm.
Many homeless people were shut out of government shelters, which only open in the evening to the next morning.
While others yet again were not fazed by the cold conditions - choosing to take to the waters at Hung Hom as Hong Kong’s very own version of the ‘polar bear’ tradition around the world of people who choose go for a swim outdoors in the coldest of winter climes.
Schools across Hong Kong are typically not heated, leading authorities to cancel classes for kindergarten and primary school children on Monday morning; many parents did not receive the announcement and have sent their children to school regardless, leaving many children in the cold outside closed schools with no supervision.
Additional reporting by Agence France Presse
