Severe cold snap sweeps across Asia

STORY: As an unusually cold weather front and extreme low pressure swept across Asia this week.

Heavy snow blanketed swathes of Japan on Wednesday (January 25).

One person died as a result of the storm there.

Snowfall and fierce winds forced hundreds of flight cancelations and disrupted train travel.

The coast guard said two people died and nine were missing after a cargo ship sank off southwestern Japan early on Wednesday amid fierce winter winds.

This was the lifeboat from the sunken ship being recovered as the search for survivors continued.

At least 124 people died in freezing temperatures in Afghanistan earlier this week, according to media reports

LOCAL RESIDENT, NAJEEMULLAH:

"The weather is too cold, we are experiencing extreme coldness. People are facing many problems, there is no water, no gas, people are trying to cope with these challenges."

In China, state broadcaster CCTV showed footage of a frozen bicycle .

While railway workers in the eastern Yantai city worked to clear heavy snow from railway tracks.

Temperatures in Mohe, China's northernmost city, dropped to a record -53 degrees Celsius - that's -63 degrees Fahrenheit, on Sunday.

Heavy snow and strong winds have also hit southern regions of South Korea.

In Japan, domestic airlines canceled 450 flights, while 490 highway areas were blocked and 57 railway services suspended nationwide, the transport ministry said.

The bitter weather is expected to continue through Thursday (January 26).