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Freezing temperatures plunged swathes of Europe into a second day of travel chaos on Tuesday, with six people dying in weather-related accidents during the continent’s bitterest cold snap so far this winter.
Since the mercury dropped on Monday, five people have died in France and one woman in Bosnia as heavy snow and rain sparked floods and power outages across the Balkans.
With the chill making roads perilous, three people died in accidents linked to black ice in southwestern France on Monday morning, authorities said, while a taxi driver died in hospital on Monday night after his vehicle veered off the road and plunged into the Marne river in the Paris region.
After nearly 40 centimetres of snow fell in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo at the weekend, a woman died in hospital after being hit by a tree that collapsed under the weight of the snowfall on Monday, according to police.
Dutch weather woes
As snow fell across the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport reported that some 600 flights were grounded during the day as crews worked to clear runways and de-ice planes waiting to depart. More snow was forecast for the rest of the week.
Dutch airline KLM said it was running short of the glycol fluid it uses combined with hot water to de-ice planes before they take off. It said airports across Europe were facing similar problems after days of freezing temperatures.
Just getting to and from the airport outside the Dutch capital was a struggle with frozen points and an early morning software glitch throwing the Netherlands’ rail system into turmoil.
Limited rail services resumed later in the morning but routes around Amsterdam remained largely closed because of the icy conditions, national railway company NS said on its website.
It urged commuters to “only travel if it’s absolutely necessary.”
Commuters forced to drive to work also faced time-consuming journeys as a combination of the snow and ice snarled traffic on some highways.
Wet weather in Rome
In Rome, weeks of rain that have swollen the Tiber River over its banks again muted Pope Leo XIV’s Christmas-time celebrations.
St. Peter’s Square was only partially full on Tuesday as a few thousand people crowded under umbrellas to hear the pontiff deliver his Epiphany blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Rome has been soaked by steady rains since before Christmas and Mayor Roberto Gualtieri issued an ordinance for Tuesday limiting public access to parks and other areas at risk for falling trees and flooding.
Farther north, snow dusted Bologna and gave skiers in the Dolomites reason to cheer, though freezing temperatures are forecast for much of the north and central part of the peninsula over the coming days.
Temperatures plummet in the UK
A cold snap sent the temperature in northern parts of Britain down to minus 12.5 degrees Celsius overnight, as snow disrupted rail, road and air travel and closed hundreds of schools.
Horse races and football matches have been called off because of snow and frost, while a power failure caused by ice closed Glasgow’s metro system.
Up to 15 centimetres of snow was forecast for northern Scotland on Tuesday, where some people have already been snowed in by previous falls.
Northeast Scotland lawmaker Andrew Bowie said the situation was “critical,” calling for soldiers to be sent in to clear snow and get food and medical supplies to stranded people.
Icy Balkans
Both heavy snow and heavy rain swept through Balkan countries, swelling rivers and creating problems in traffic and disruptions in power and water supplies.
In Serbia, some western municipalities introduced emergency measures due to bad weather.
While in Bosnia, black ice stopped cars and forced drivers to park on the side on their way to Mount Bjelasnica above Sarajevo on Tuesday morning.
Heavy wind and stormy seas battered the Adriatic coastline in Croatia and Montenegro. Video footage showed the sea sweeping through holiday cottages at Ada Bojana in southern Montenegro during a storm.
Additional sources • AP, AFP