The Chinese capital was in the grip of its coldest weather in 20 years on Tuesday after snow storms caused chaos, while South Korea sent out an army of civil servants and soldiers to clear clogged roads. China's national weather centre said the mercury dipped today to minus 15.6 degrees Celsius, the lowest in more than two decades, after Beijing was hit by its heaviest snowfall in 60 years at the weekend. The weather centre said the freezing weather was expected to continue until Thursday for the Chinese capital, nearby Tianjin and Inner Mongolia, with temperatures forecast to fall as low as minus 32 degrees Celsius. In South Korea, tens of thousands of civil servants and soldiers were mobilised to clear record snowfalls as freezing temperatures left roads and highways icy in many areas. In Seoul alone, about 48,000 people including civil servants and volunteers were mobilised to remove snow. The defence ministry said 19,000 solders were deployed for snow clearing nationwide, while military helicopters carried blankets and food to isolated villages.