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TEHRAN, February 28 - Europe remained Wednesday gripped by a blast of Siberian weather which has killed at least 24 people and carpeted palm-lined Mediterranean beaches in snow.
TEHRAN,Young Journalists Club(YJC) - The frigid temperatures, down to minus 24 degrees Celsius (minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Germany and minus 29 in Estonia overnight, have prompted warnings for the most vulnerable homeless and elderly.
Poland has reported at least nine deaths with four in France, including an nonagenarian who was found Tuesday outside the gate to her retirement home. Five have died in Lithuania, three in the Czech Republic and two in Romania, including an 83-year-old woman found on the streets covered in snow, and one homeless person in Italy.
More snow was forecast for Spain, including Catalonia where school transport has been cancelled. Classes have also been suspended in the Canary Islands which is being lashed by powerful winds.
In Belgium, towns including Etterbeek, Verviers and Charleroi have resorted to ordering police to detain homeless people if they refuse to go to shelters.
The Red Cross, which has set up emergency teams across Europe, urged people to keep an eye on neighbours and relatives.
Paris authorities counted 3,000 rough-sleepers in the city's first-ever homeless census this month, warning it was likely significantly underestimated.
In England, where heavy snow was dumped on London Tuesday, tabloids have dubbed the snap "the Beast from the East", while the Dutch are calling it the "Siberian bear" and Swedes the "snow cannon".
Some of the iciest conditions were reported in Italy, where many schools and daycare centres were closed, to the consternation of parents already preparing for closures next week linked to this weekend's general election.
Italians' anger was also growing over nationwide disruptions to rail services as a lack of defrosting equipment on the tracks meant workers having to clear snow and ice by hand.
Russia's Gazprom, a major gas supplier to Europe, said it had sent record exports to the continent over the past six days, peaking at 667 million cubic metres (23.6 billion cubic feet) on Monday as people turned up their thermostats.
Source: AFP
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