Extreme cold snap hits Europe

A record-breaking blast of wintry weather has left a number of people dead in central and eastern Europe. The shores of the Black Sea froze in Romania but it was inland where the unprecedented temperatures were recorded, falling to -36 degrees Celsius in one central area. In Croatia and Bosnia the extreme conditions claimed the lives of six people. Bosnia’s weather service said the country had been hit by a “Siberian anticyclone.”

Hundreds of people were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of the cold. But those who went to Banja Luka’s main hospital found little relief as its heating system was not working. At least two people were thought to have died in Bulgaria. The Arctic weather cut a swathe through the continent from north to south. Poland was one of several states where temperatures dropped below minus 30. And in some places no improvement is expected until the end of the week.

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