Ice and snow gripped much of Europe yesterday as the death toll from a vicious cold snap climbed to around 50. Three people froze to death on Tuesday night in Moscow, where temperatures this week have plunged as low as -28.8 Celsius, the coldest mid-December for many decades.
Nine others have died on the capital's streets in recent days and 13 have perished in fires as they tried to heat their apartments. Yesterday a blanket of snow swept across the southern half of Britain, closing hundreds of schools, blocking dozens of roads and creating transport turmoil.
Icy winds from Siberia sent temperatures plummeting and blew snow into drifts up to four feet deep. The south-west was the first area affected, with heavy falls overnight in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.
Railway services were disrupted throughout south-west England and south Wales, and all Stena Sealink ferry services from Holyhead were cancelled.
After the snowfall, bookmakers William Hill cut their odds on a white Christmas from 4-1 to 2-1 - the shortest ever quoted at this point in December - with spokesman Mr Graham Sharpe saying a countrywide white Christmas would cost the company £250,000.
Elsewhere, Poland suffered badly, with 15 people dying in recent days as temperatures plummeted to around -20 Celsius. "The victims are mainly homeless . . . and those who drank too much alcohol," said a Warsaw police spokesman, Mr Pawel Biedziak.
Seven frozen corpses were collected from the streets of the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on Tuesday.
Rough seas, low visibility and high winds closed Romanian Black Sea ports and trapped two US warships taking part in a naval exercise. Power was cut to some 250 villages in the south and east.
Motoring organisations across Europe urged drivers to leave their cars at home to prevent further loss of life from the biting cold and ice. Radio reports described roads in Luxembourg as "veritable skating rinks".
In London, the government was moving homeless youths into one of the city's grandest buildings, Admiralty Arch on Trafalgar Square. The 60 youngsters, who normally sleep rough on the streets, will be allowed to stay until March in the former naval headquarters.
In Spain, where two fatal road accidents have been blamed on the weather, authorities issued warnings of heavy rain, high winds and possible floods.