Big Freeze in Europe . "Snow Pictures Breath Taking"

[Zindagi]

Bath time: Two Ukrainian men take a dip in an ice hole in the Dnipro river in Kiev

Countries across Europe have been battling a severe cold snap for the last two weeks, with schools closed, public transport ground to a halt and snow melt threatening flooding to built up areas.
Another four people were killed by floods in southern Bulgaria, with 10 people still missing authorities said today, after a dam collapsed.
Temperatures have plummeted as low as -36C in Ukraine, the hardest-hit country, with hundreds of people - many homeless - reported to have died across Europe.
Last night, the Serbian government declared a state of emergency, after intense snowfall. Emergency officials said 70,000 people were cut off.
Schools will also be closed in the Italian capital of Rome on Tuesday, as Italy copes with unusually heavy snow for the Mediterranean country.



Rescue: A man is evacuated in Biser, southern Bulgaria, after a dam wall broke and flooded the town



People walk along the promenade on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, as a 4x4 stands completely covered by ice



Slippy: A woman walks on the frozen waterside of the boardwalk of the Lake Geneva, in Gland, Switzerland



Mush! A competitor speeds through the snow with his Siberian huskies during a dog race in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany



One for the album: A tourist takes a picture of the Bartholdi fountain in Lyon, eastern France



Thick ice covers of the anchor of a ferry ship making her way among ice-floes floating in River Danube in Budapest, Hungary




Unseasonably cold: Even Algeria, in north Africa, has borne the brunt of the freezing weather with rare snowfall



A rare visit from Mr frosty: Two women walk past a snowman in Algiers, Algeria. Meteorology reports suggest that the last time Algiers saw this amount of snow was at least seven years ago in 2005




Cut off: An isolated village is surrounded by heavy snowfall in Bosnia and Herzegovinia. Hundreds of people have been killed as temperatures plummeted as low as -36C in Eastern Europe




A man walks past snow-covered trees on top of the 1,493-meter-high Feldberg mountain in the southern German Black Forest region

The race, held along a 125-mile network of canals connecting 11 towns and cities in Friesland province, would cause a national frenzy, drawing thousands of participants and more than a million spectators. It was last held in 1997.
Treacherous conditions threatened Britain's return to work today as the weekend snow that blanketed the country turned to ice, striking at transport on road, rail and in the air.

While thousands ventured outside to enjoy the snow at the weekend, the onset of the working week is likely to bring widespread disruption with problems reported on the roads, railways, at airports and even on the ground as people struggle with icy pavements.

On the roads the RAC today said it had had the busiest February weekend in its history, with 41 per cent more calls than usual, while the worst overnight problems saw a 25-mile long stretch of the A1 closed after a series of accidents that included four jack-knifed lorries. The A27 is also partly closed this afternoon after a serious crash involving three vehicles.





Icicles hang from a roof in Hochfilzen, in the Austrian province of Tyrol




Frozen: King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, perform a 41-gun salute to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Queen's accession in the snow in Hyde Park, London