China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Beastly freeze
Warning of risk to homeless as deadly Arctic snap bites
Storms cover Europe with winter beauty that is disruptive, deadly
PARIS — Fresh heavy snowfalls and icy blizzards were predicted to lash Europe on Thursday as the region shivers in a deadly deep-freeze that has gripped countries from the far north to the Mediterranean south.
Schools are shut and weather agencies predict the brutal cold will continue as the death toll from the freezing snap rose to around 48 since Feb 23, with icy conditions causing accidents and endangering vulnerable rough sleepers.
In the latest deaths, a 60-year-old man perished after falling into a lake in London, while an elderly Dutch skater plunged through cracked ice in the western village of Hank.
The victims also include 18 people killed in Poland, six in the Czech Republic, five in Lithuania, four each in France and Slovakia, two each in Italy, Serbia, Romania and Slovenia and one in Spain.
The Siberian cold front — dubbed the “Beast from the East” in Britain, “Siberian bear” by the Dutch and the “snow cannon” by Swedes — has blanketed huge swathes of the region in snow and played havoc with transport networks.
In Scotland, which saw Glasgow airport closed until Thursday morning and most flights canceled from Edinburgh, emergency services struggled to help drivers stranded for hours on a major motorway, with images showing scores of vehicles trapped in the snow late on Wednesday.
“This is a very difficult situation but everything possible is being done,” Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter.
Further blasts of wintry weather are expected, with authorities in Ireland and normallybalmy southern France among those to have issued red alerts late on Wednesday.
Homeless people account for many of the dead, and cities across Europe have been racing to open emergency shelters to protect people sleeping rough.
In Germany, the national homeless association urged shelters to open during the day and not just at night. “You can die of cold during the day too,” its chief Werena Rosenke warned.
Authorities are also urging people to look out for elderly relatives and neighbors after a French woman in her nineties was found frozen to death outside her retirement home.
In Paris, where up to 5 centimeters of snow had been expected overnight, some 50 regional lawmakers spent Wednesday night on the streets to protest the “denial of dignity” suffered by those without roofs over their heads.
Temperatures again plunged below -20 C overnight in numerous parts of Europe — even hitting -36 C in Glattalp, 1,850 meters above sea level in the Swiss mountains.
In Sweden, where the cold snap coincided with schools’ winter sports break, most were happy to see the snow, with temperatures ranging from -5 C in Stockholm to -20 C in the mountains near Ostersund, where many Swedes were spending ski holidays.
Europe’s cold snap comes as the Arctic experiences record-high temperatures, prompting scientists to ask if global warming may be playing a role in turning things upside down.
British forecasters predict extreme weather will continue to grip the country into the weekend.
In Ireland, anxious residents were hoarding bread and milk as they braced for Thursday’s arrival of a storm expected to bring the heaviest snowfall in decades.
Ireland’s National Meteorological Service, known as Met Eireann, late on Wednesday issued its highest weather warning — advising people to “take action to protect themselves and/or their properties” — for the entire country until mid-afternoon on Friday.
“Further heavy snow showers will bring accumulations of significant levels with all areas at risk,” it said.