56037
On the temperature in eastern Russia:

> 気温がいつもの年より１０℃以上低い **－５０℃以上** になっている所がたくさんあります。  
>  There are many places that have reached **less than** -50℃, which is 10℃
> lower than usual years.

Firstly, I was fairly confident in my translation, but I read an English
article that said the average temperature in a normal year was -50℃, whereas
my translation suggests that -40℃ is the usual temperature, so now I'm not so
sure.

My main question is about the use of 以上 and 以下 with negative numbers. This
sentence is opposite to my expectations. My usual understanding would be that
-50以上 means 'not less than -50' i.e it could be -40, -30 etc. But from the
context I must assume that it means temperatures colder than -50.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-18T21:24:48.790
56036
2018-01-18T21:52:05.107
7944
question
grammar numbers reading-comprehension
Use of 以上 and 以下 with negative numbers
I think your understanding is perfectly correct. Mathematically "-50℃以上" must
mean -40, -30, 10, etc., but from the context I also think it refers to
temperatures colder than or equal to -50℃. "-50℃以下" should have been the
correct wording. Perhaps the person who wrote this is not good at math. Rest
assured there is no strange Japanese rule regarding negative numbers and the
usage of 以上/以下.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-18T21:52:05.107
56037
2018-01-18T21:52:05.107
5010
56036
answer