London, February 03 — Eastern and central Europe continue to shiver under a blanket of heavy snow Friday, with more deaths reported after bitter cold overnight temperatures.
Ukraine is probably the worst affected, with Poland, Romania, Serbia and Belarus also suffering much more severe winter conditions than usual.
Thirty-eight people have died of hypothermia in Ukraine over the past 24 hours, according to the state-run news agency Ukrinform, citing government ministries.
The latest deaths take the total number killed in Ukraine in the cold spell that started January 27 to 101, the news agency reported.
Twenty-nine people had died in Poland as of Thursday, according to the publicly funded Polish Radio’s news website.
Joe Lowry, spokesman for the International Red Cross Europe Zone, said many people across the region are in urgent need of help.
“If 163 people have frozen to death on the European streets, it is a disaster,” he told CNN.
The homeless and elderly are among the most vulnerable, Lowry said.
He said the Red Cross is helping people by providing warm clothing, hot drinks and food, as well as shelter in tents and moral support.
Six people have died from the cold in Serbia, and one is missing and presumed dead, the Serbian state-run news agency Tanjug quoted emergencies official Predrag Maric, of the country’s interior ministry, as saying Thursday.
About 11,500 people have been cut off from the world by heavy snowfall, and a state of emergency has been declared in 14 municipalities, Maric told the agency.
Central and northern Italy have also been suffering unusually cold temperatures and snow.
Ferrari’s plans to unveil a new car for the 2012 Formula One season have been dashed by heavy snowfall at the Italian team’s Maranello factory.
The legendary brand had planned to showcase the new car, which they hope will win them a first drivers’ championship since 2007, on Friday.
CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said a strong high pressure area — named “Dieter” by the Free University of Berlin, which has responsibility for naming highs and lows in Europe — was bringing down the frigid Siberian air and keeping Europe in the teeth of its worst cold spell in years.
The heart of the cold air is now migrating slightly to the north, he said, and the most extreme temperatures will probably be found in the Baltic states and eastern Scandinavia as the week goes on.
An area of low pressure moving in from the Mediterranean will help the temperatures rebound somewhat in eastern and southeastern Europe, Miller said, but the system will bring heavy snow and storms, which will make travel even more treacherous.
Courtesy: CNN