Offiicials in several countries advised people to stay at home on Wednesday as severe weather caused chaos on the roads and disrupted public transport.
ADVERTISEMENTHeavy snow and freezing rain hit parts of northern and central Europe on Wednesday, bringing transport to a halt, causing chaos on the roads, and major disruptions at airports in the region.
In Denmark, heavy snow and strong winds made conditions dangerous on the roads with several accidents backing up traffic.
Rail transport was also impacted with the police advising people to work from home and postpone appointments.
In the Norwegian capital, Olso, poor visibility and heavy snow saw bus services halted leaving many people stranded.
The bad weather also disrupted road traffic, particularly across the south of the country, and delayed rail services.
The city’s airport was closed temporarily on Wednesday as heavy snow reduced visibility for pilots.
In France’s north-eastern Lorraine region, officials issued an orange alert because of icy rain and snow.
Numerous traffic accidents were also reported and public transport impacted. Méteo France on Wednesday warned of more snow and rain over much of the north-east of the country.
In Germany, around 700 flights were cancelled due to extreme weather conditions at Frankfurt Airport, the country’s busiest air hub.
Airport officials said there was a danger of de-iced aircraft icing up again as they taxied towards the runway.
Heavy snowfall and freezing rain also caused delays and cancellations at other German airports.
The freezing rain across western and southern Germany led to many accidents on icy roads in the early morning hours of Wednesday.
As a precaution, many schools and kindergartens closed for the day and some companies offered their employees the option of working from home.
And Belgium’s southern Luxembourg region is also on red alert due to freezing rain that is impacting road traffic.