French authorities closed two freeways on Tuesday as sub-zero temperature continue across the continent.
ADVERTISEMENTSnow is causing disruptions in parts of France, with Paris and Normandy being particularly affected by the conditions.
The national meteorological service placed 10 regions under an orange weather warning amid ice and snow on Tuesday as temperatures dropped below zero degrees Celsius in most of the country. The areas affected were Eure, Essonne, Isère, Manche, Orne, Savoie, Haute-Savoie and Yvelines.
Motorways A13 and A12 of the west of Paris were closed Monday to ensure the safety of commuters.
"It's a bit chaotic, everything is blocked, and the roads are not clear" one driver complained.
Serbian authorities evacuate animals
On Tuesday, Serbian officials evacuated about 200 cows and horses that had been stuck on a river island for weeks as temperatures dropped.
The animals were stranded on the Krcedinska Ada island, in the middle of the River Danube after there was an increase in water levels last month. According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Serbia, 97 cows, 40 calves, and 70 horses were in need of help. The distance to shore was three kilometres.
The weather was unseasonably warm in Serbia for weeks late last year, and the Danube had swollen due to the melting of snow upstream. This week, warm weather gave way to a spate of snowy and freezing weather that swept the Balkan region.
Animal shelter in Poland urges people to adopt pets
With a deep freeze approaching, an animal shelter in Poland sent out an urgent appeal to people to adopt or at least temporarily shelter some of its dogs until the dangerous cold spell passes.
The result of what it called “Operation Frost” took the shelter workers by surprise. Over the weekend, people arrived in droves, waited in lines for hours and ended up taking home 120 pups, the shelter's deputy manager Małgorzata Pałetko said on the TVN24 broadcaster.
The KTOZ Shelter for Homeless Animals sent out its appeal on Friday as temperatures were forecast to fall to around -20C in parts of southern Poland, where Krakow is located.
Shelter staff said they had about 300 dogs, but not all could fit indoors and some were in outdoor pens. It appealed for temporary help to be able to move all the animals inside to the warmth.