Norilisk, Russia. Photo from bigpicture.ru
“London: Extreme winter weather swept across western Europe, leaving thousands of passengers stranded at London’s main international airport and claiming several lives in Spain, Portugal, Scotland and France, including those of three Mali-bound soldiers.”Last Friday, people were panic buying in Wales.
“With much of Britain expecting to be brought to a standstill today by a 40–hour snowstorm, shelves were left completely empty and basic items disappeared amid fears families would be left snowed in.
Supermarkets reported a “frenzy” as people stampeded along the aisles, filling their trolleys with bread, milk, vegetables and other essentials, leaving stores “virtually empty”.
“Snowpocalypse in Russia
On Friday, Moscow was on a verge of traffic collapse as more than 10 inches of snow fell on the city, which is more than half of January’s average.
Thousands of passengers were stranded overnight in the capital’s major airports, as several dozen flights were delayed.
…
The polar circle city of Norilsk has been buried under 10 feet of snow – entire apartment blocks, markets, stores and offices were buried under snow overnight. Banks of snow were as high as two people put together, reaching the second-story windows of some apartment buildings.
In the end of 2012, Russia saw extreme winter not witnessed since 1938. The coldest-ever December in Russia led to the evacuation of hundreds of people in Siberia, where temperatures fell below -50 degrees Celsius; Moscow also saw its coldest night ever for the season.
More than 90 Russians died during the cold snap, and more than 600 people were taken to hospital due to the extremely dangerous weather, which is 10 degrees below the December norm. Nearly 200 people have died throughout Russia as a direct result of weather-related accidents and hypothermia this season...”