Photos: Freezing temperature deepens misery in earthquake hit Turkey and Syria

Rescuers desperately digging through the rubble since Monday's earthquakes in southern Turkey and northwestern Syria were already racing against time to find trapped survivors. But the urgency were exacerbated as freezing temperatures, rain, snow and wind chills blanketed some of the worst-hit areas.

People warm themselves around a bonfire in the rubble in Kahramanmaras, Turkey

In the hours after a 7.8-magnitude quake Monday morning, temperatures hit lows of around 37 degrees Fahrenheit (2.7 degrees Celsius) around the epicenter in southern Turkey. A cold rainstorm also passed through that day. In the days that followed, temperatures dipped, and stayed, below freezing.

Survivors have been left to scramble for food and shelter - and in some cases watch helplessly as their relatives called for rescue, and eventually went silent under the debris.

An Azerbaijan rescue team rests near a bonfire amidst the rubble of collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, on February 8, 2023, two days after a 7,8-magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey.

People warm themselves next to a collapsed building in Malatya, Turkey.

Three women watch the emergency teams as they search for survivors in the rubble of a destroyed building in Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey.

Syrians warm up by a fire at a make-shift shelter for people who were left homeless, near the rebel-held town of Jindayris on February 9, 2023, two days after a deadly earthquake hit Turkey and Syria.

A woman sits next to a bonfire following an earthquake in Hatay, Turkey February 8, 2023.

People gather around a bonfire following an earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 6, 2023.

Syrian children carry bread at a make-shift shelter for people who were left homeless, near the rebel-held town of Jindayris on February 9, 2023, two days after a deadly earthquake hit Turkey and Syria.