We got snow about Jan 23 and then the temps dropped to -20 and dipped as low as -30 in some places. Two years ago when we had a similar cold snap, other European countries were reporting deaths due to cold but Ukraine did not. This time round they seem to have caught on that it is unacceptable to suppress bad news and are reporting deaths of homeless people but not deaths of poor people who have not heat in their homes or flats. More than 100 homeless are reported dead. Also over 900 people have been hospitalized to hypothermia. The country has made a major effort to provide food and shelter for the homeless in this cold weather.
Other Eastern European countries are reporting numbers of deaths and taking steps to provide for the homeless.
We have not has snow here since January however the rest of Europe has had varying amounts, mostly lots from what I read. There is a low pressure area below Italy bringing much snow to the Balkans and to northern Italy. The Balkans are quite mountainous and apparently remote villages are cut off by the snow in Serbia and possibly in other countries around. Not sure about the snow in northern and western Europe. Great Britain has snow and London is reporting -11.
We had expected it to warm up this week but no luck. Yesterday it climbed to -5 but with very strong winds. The winds continue and last night temps dropped to -18. It is 2:00 pm as I write and it is -12 with strong wind outside. Tanya said this morning that there is ice on the Black Sea which no one remembers happening before and a great deal of ice on the Sea of Azov which is shallow and treacherous in winter. Tanya said a ship enroute to Rostov na Donu was damaged or sunk by the ice. I couldn't find anything further on it but will Google it again later.
Not much will improve until that high pressure area moves from Siberia.
What a horrible time to be homeless! In contrast to your location, we're unseasonably warm here. Crazy weather.
ReplyDeleteSorry Fodder we stole all your heat here in the northwest. It's 50 degrees F right now just like early spring.
ReplyDeleteI shudder to think of poor people with no heat in that kind of cold, especially with wind. It seems unimaginable. I hope the siege ends soon.
ReplyDeleteRe: Western Europe, the news story said in Holland ice on the canals will make possible a very popular 11-city ice-skating race that hasn't been held since the winter of '97-'98.
We have seen the news reports about the deaths of homeless people and those with little or no heat in their homes with the extreme cold there. It is very serious especially when it is for an extended period of time. It is good that efforts are being made for food and shelter.
ReplyDeleteStill -20 at night here and supposed to get colder on the weekend. Sea of Azov is frozen over. I saw a picture of that ship frozen into the ice. Blizzard conditions in Crimea for several days now it seems like.
ReplyDeleteGazprom is having a hard time keeping up with demand though they are pumping everything they got. The cold in Russia means a lot of gas is being used there and so there is less to export. Europe is seeing reduced amounts and I know our pressure is much lower than normal. We are having trouble keeping out house warm to 20C (68F).
I've heard many news stories on the U.S. evening news about the latest European cold weather, and a great deal about the Ukrainian weather in particular. In fact, I've been remiss in not checking in with you sooner. I am glad that all sounds okay with you.
ReplyDeleteAh, withholding deaths when they make an area look bad. Nothing like good PR unless it's the bad PR that you get when your good PR is discovered to be a lie.