Cold snap grips Central and Eastern Europe

By AFP
January 09, 2024

WARSAW: Schools were closed and electricity failed in several parts of Central and Eastern Europe on Monday as a cold snap moved in from Scandinavia, with Poland seeing overnight temperatures plunge to minus 23 degrees Celsius.

Vapor rises from the water around a historic tri-master charter sailing ship moored in a port of Oslo on January 5, 2024, as the morning sun paints the scene in golden light during unusually cold temperatures of around -22 degrees Celsius in the Norwegian capital. — AFP
Vapor rises from the water around a historic tri-master charter sailing ship moored in a port of Oslo on January 5, 2024, as the morning sun paints the scene in golden light during unusually cold temperatures of around -22 degrees Celsius in the Norwegian capital. — AFP

The Polish weather service issued safety warnings for most of the country as temperatures are set to plummet further this week. Around 2,200 households were without power in the northeast, where school bus services were cancelled. “Due to the cold, there were problems with school transport,” regional government spokesman Krzysztof Guzek told the PAP news agency.

In Latvia, a temperature of minus 29.5 Celsius (minus 21.1 Fahrenheit) was recorded in Daugavpils, the country´s second-largest city, with weather forecasters predicting similar arctic conditions through the week.

Hungary´s national weather service warned of wind gusts of up to 90 km/h (56 mph) in the northeast and temperatures slipping to minus 12C in some areas by Friday and Saturday. Strong winds of nearly 100 km/h blew off roofs, brought down trees onto roads and downed electricity poles and power lines in some parts of the country. Hungarian authorities warned in particular to ensure that pets and animals in shelters or strays are not exposed to the extreme cold.