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01/25/2010

A continuing cold snap across parts of Europe over the weekend and into Monday caused the deaths of more than 40 people in Romania, Bulgaria and Poland. It's a cold spell that also stretched across much of Germany, leaving people here shivering as temperatures plunged as low as -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) early on Monday morning.

The frigid temperatures transformed images of a snowy winter wonderland into an icy landscape in Germany. Cold weather caused lakes, rivers and streams to freeze over and ice to collect on roadways, rail lines and airport runways, disrupting transportation and causing accidents. Several dozen injuries and at least two deaths occurred as a result of road accidents on Monday. Traffic jams were also reported across the country, and at Frankfurt airport, Germany's largest, over 150 flights had to be cancelled because of runway conditions. Numerous other flights were delayed.

Police in the southern state of Bavaria reported the death of a 78-year-old, found frozen near his home in Lindau on Saturday night.

Lower Temperatures, Less Sun

This January has been colder than usual in Germany -- at least 1.5 degrees Celsius lower than average according to the German Weather Service (DWD). Sunshine has also been unusually sparse. Although winter has already passed the half-way mark, Germans have enjoyed only 40 percent of the sunlight that is normal for January, with three-quarters of the month already having passed. Nevertheless, the results of a poll published in this week's issue of the newsweekly Focus show that 70 percent of Germans are pleased that winter has been this cold and snowy.

Deadly Cold Strikes Eastern Europe

Germany's cold spell, however, has been minor compared to temperatures being experienced in Eastern Europe. A government spokesperson in Bucharest reported that ice cold temperatures of -34 degrees Celsius caused the deaths of 11 people in Romania in just 24 hours, with a total of 22 deaths registered in the last five days as a result of the cold.

The country's social services have reported that 15,000 people in Romania are homeless, with 5,000 living in the capital city of Bucharest alone. Authorities have ordered hospitals to take in as many as possible to escape the cold.

"Most of the dead are older homeless people, " said Raed Arafat, a senior official in the Romanian Health Ministry. "We try to find endangered people and bring them to safety, but in some cases we miss people," he said, according to French news agency AFP.

Meanwhile, in Poland 11 people died during what has so far been the country's coldest night this winter, with temperatures as low as -31 degrees Celsius. In total, 16 people died over the weekend from freezing temperatures, the government in Warsaw reported.

With temperatures as low as -29 degrees Celsius, Bulgaria reported the lowest temperatures for the region in the past 50 years. Three deaths linked to the cold weather have been reported since Saturday. Meteorologists also warn that waters in the bay of the Black Sea could freeze for the first time since the winter of 1942-1943.