Dubai: The weather outside is frightful — and cold, bitterly cold.
In Russia, at least 88 people died as the mercury plummeted to near -30 degrees Celcius — cold enough to freeze expose bare skin in less than a minute.
Moscow authorities told schoolchildren they could stay home to avoid the frigid temperatures as at least 550 people needed medical treatment in the capital region.
For the past ten days, there’s been no let up in the deep freeze. And what’s concerning authorities is that the normally cold Russian winter is deeper and longer — 12 degrees Celcius colder. It’s already -50 Celsius in eastern Siberia, with such chills not normally arriving until January or February.
In Ukraine, which has been battling heavy snowfall for weeks, at least 83 people had died of cold, with 57 of the victims found on the street.
In China, it’s the same story. A cold front brought temperatures of -40 degrees Celsius to northern China, as officials urged cities to conserve heating and two tourists died after they were stranded on a mountain.
The cold was expected to continue, with Beijing forecast to see temperatures of -11 degrees Celsius, the China Meteorological Administration said on its website. Snowfall of as much as 1.5 meters was recorded in northern Xinjiang, the China Daily newspaper reported.
In Britain, it’s wet and cold.
Holiday travel plans are being put on hold for thousands of people in Britain because floods have halted train service to the country’s southwest corner and the National Weather Service has issued more than 500 flood alerts and warnings for England and Wales.
To the north in Scotland, nearly 50 warnings have been issued, but it’s the southwest of England that has borne the brunt of the heavy rains.
Emergency services have been working around the clock, rescuing people trapped in their cars and homes.
One woman was found clinging to a tree overnight after being swept from a car near Barnstaple in the district of North Devon.
Emergency accommodations are being set up and tents have been given to some residents.
Helston in Cornwall and Braunton in Devon are among the worst hit communities, with flooding occurring on land that was already waterlogged.
Residents have been forced to wade or cycle through the water, with some opting for makeshift boats.
Some of the roads in the southwest are inaccessible due to flooding.
At least 26 people died over the past day in freezing temperatures in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The deaths were reported Sunday and yesterday in Basli, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Varanasi and Chandauli towns. Temperatures as low as -4 degrees Celsius were reported in the state.
While some of the deaths were due to exposure, at least six people were killed in road accidents caused by dense fog, the report said.
All schools and colleges in Uttar Pradesh’s capital, Lucknow, have been closed until January 5 because of the cold.
In Turkey, winter weather is making live miserable for thousands of the 500,000 refugees who have fled Syria.
Um Khalid is contemplating selling some of the bare-bones food ration given to Syrian refugees to buy winter clothes for her eight children. “I was thinking I could buy something every month for one child that way,” she said, explaining her pained calculation as she served instant coffee heated on a hot plate in the tent that has sheltered the family since they fled Syria 18 months ago. Outside the tent flaps, a heavy rain formed large puddles and transformed dirt into slippery mud. In the cold and dank, children ran around in sweatshirts and open-toed sandals. “I don’t care about myself, I only care about what my children need,” said the 32-year-old mother, who was wearing the thin, floor-length dress she had on when she arrived in Turkey this past summer.
Conditions are even worse at some camps within Syria, where food is in short supply and the major source of light is candles stuck in tin bowls.
Temperatures in Yayladagi typically drop below freezing on winter nights, and mountains not far away are capped with snow. Two women washing dishes at a cold-water spigot, by a metal fence with razor wire, said many adults are catching flu and colds from the children.
“We’re always sick, all of us,” said Raida, who is six months pregnant, as she perched on a large plastic yogurt barrel. Suleiman Qubbai, 18, a construction worker wearing a thin leather jacket, said he dreaded a repeat of last winter, when a heavy snowfall caused several tents to collapse. The power was out for three days, and many refugees huddled in tents under blankets until it was restored and the heaters worked again.
—Compiled from agencies
