Severe, deadly cold sweeps Europe

A woman with her face covered walks in a street in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. The death toll from Europe's weeklong ultra-cold snap rose to at least 169 on Friday.

In Ukraine, the hardest-hit country, more than 50 people have perished from the cold in the last week. Nearly 950 others were hospitalized with hypothermia and frostbite and over 2,000 heated tents have been set up with hot food for the homeless. Health officials have told hospitals to stop discharging the hundreds of homeless patients after they are treated for hypothermia and frostbite. The goal is to prevent them from dying once they are released into temperatures as low as -32 degrees Celsius (-26 Fahrenheit).

A man views icicles on a window in Uzice 125 miles southwest of Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. At least 11,000 villagers have been trapped by heavy snow and blizzards in Serbia's mountains, authorities announced Thursday, as the death toll from Eastern Europe's weeklong deep freeze rose to 122.

A Siberian tiger enjoys the snow in a cage at the zoo in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. Zoo officials are taking special measures to protect animals from the weeklong cold snap, Eastern Europe's worst in decades, which caused power outages, frozen water pipes and widespread closure of schools, nurseries, airports and bus routes.

Snow surrounds the ancient Colosseum as snowflakes fell in Rome Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. Snowfalls are a rare occurrence for a capital usually blessed by a temperate climate, and other parts of the country experienced frigid temperatures unseen in years. The snowfall prompted authorities to stop visitors from entering the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, the former home of Rome's ancient emperors.

Rescue workers stand near vehicles after a chain collision involving dozens, possibly up to a hundred cars took place on February 3, 2012 on the Lahti motorway, close to the Jakom

A chain collision involving dozens, possibly up to a hundred cars took place on February 3, 2012 on the Lahti motorway, close to the Jakom

A rare mantle of snow blanketed the historic center of Rome on Friday, February 3, 2011. People are seen walking in a St. Peter's Square covered by snow, in front of St Peter's Basilica at The Vatican.

Stadium staff remove snow during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale Milano and US Citta di Palermo at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 1, 2012 in Milan, Italy.

A statue is covered with snow at Castello Sforzesco on February 2, 2012 in Milan. Forecasters say this week will be the coldest Italy has known in 27 years, as icy winds blow across the peninsula from Siberia.

A dock covered with snow is seen with the partly-frozen water of Stockholm on February 2, 2012. A cold snap kept Europe in its icy grip, pushing the death toll past 150 as countries from Italy to Ukraine struggled to cope with temperatures that reached record lows in some places.

Cyclists cross a bridge in heavy snow in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Friday Feb. 3, 2012. Dutch authorities banned boats from some of Amsterdam's canals and waterways in the hope the big freeze gripping the city would turn the still water to ice and allow residents to go skating.

A windmill is seen on a partially iced up canal near the town of Lisserbroek, western Netherlands Friday Feb. 3, 2012. A cold spell holds most of Europe in its icy grip, temperatures in Holland dropped to minus-10 degrees Celsius overnight (14 degrees Fahrenheit), but cloud-covered skies and snow brought daytime temperatures to -1 degrees Celsius, or 30 degrees Fahrenheit.

A Russian woman wearing a swimsuit crosses a street braving -19 Celsius (-2.2 Fahrenheit) temperatures as she heads from a public bathhouse to a nearby lake to swim in an ice hole on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, Feb. 3, 2012. It's common practice in Russia to plunge into icy water or snow after taking a steam bath.

A general view of the snow in Rubi, Spain, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. A cold spell has reached Europe with temperatures plummeting far below zero.

Snow-covered bicycles lie on the ground in St. Gallen, Switzerland, Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012. A cold spell has reached central and eastern Europe with temperatures far below zero.

A cross country skier makes his way through a snowy winter landscape on the Schauinsland mountain near Freiburg, southwestern Germany, on Feb. 1, 2012. A cold spell has reached central and eastern Europe, with temperatures far below zero.

A Ukrainian man, covered with plastic sheeting to form a tent for protection from the wind and cold, fishes through an ice hole on the Dnipro river outside Cherkasy, central Ukraine. The death toll from a severe cold spell in Eastern Europe rose to 71 Wednesday, most of them homeless people. Temperatures dropped to minus 26.5 F in some regions, causing power outages and traffic chaos and prompting authorities to close schools and nurseries.

A woman adjusts her hat in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, Ukraine, on Feb. 1, 2012. The death toll from a severe cold spell in Eastern Europe rose to 71 Wednesday, most of them homeless people. Temperatures dropped to minus 26.5 F in some regions, causing power outages and traffic chaos and prompting authorities to close schools and nurseries.

People walk down the street in Ukraine's capital, Kiev, Ukraine, on Feb. 1, 2012. The death toll from a severe cold spell in Eastern Europe rose to 71 Wednesday, most of them homeless people. Temperatures dropped to minus minus 26.5 F in some regions, causing power outages and traffic chaos and prompting authorities to close schools and nurseries.

Emergency workers chop wood to heat a tented camp sheltering homeless people in Cherkasy, central Ukraine, on Feb. 1, 2012. Dozens of homeless people froze to death and hundreds of others suffered from hypothermia and frostbite across Eastern Europe as a severe cold spell hit the region.

A man is seen behind a frosty window on a tram on a cold winter day in Sofia, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012. Temperatures in Eastern Europe have dropped as low as minus 26.5 F in some regions, causing power outages, traffic chaos and the closure of schools and nurseries.

Albanian men stroll near the damn of the artificial lake of Badovac on Feb. 1, 2012 in Kosovo. Heavy snow and freezing weather on Monday led to some deaths in Serbia and Bulgaria. Exceptionally cold weather and snowstorms hit parts of central and eastern Europe last week. As temperatures dropped to around minus 26.5 F, authorities urged people to be careful and remain indoors.

A man walks his dog along the banks of the Neris river in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, as morning temperatures plummeted to -23 degrees Celsius (-9 degrees Fahrenheit).

A severe and snowy cold snap across central and eastern Europe has left more than 50 people dead, cut off power to towns, and snarled traffic.

A woman looks through an icy window on a tram in Sofia on January 31, 2012. Record low temperatures were registered around Bulgaria Tuesday, as the mercury continued to drop, threatening shipping on the Danube and closing hundreds of schools.

A buoy layer makes its way through sheets of floating ice on the river Oder at the German-Polish border near Hohenwutzen, eastern Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. The German part of the river had to be closed for the traffic. After a period of relatively mild weather a cold spell has reached central and eastern Europe.

A stray dog peers through the enclosure fence a shelter in Glina, Romania, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012.

Temperatures plunged to -27 degrees Centigrade (-16.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Romania. Four people died due to cold-related causes according to local media.

A stray dog sits on a large pile of snow at a shelter in Glina, Romania, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Temperatures plunged to -27 degrees Centigrade (-16.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Romania, where four people died due to cold-related causes according to local media.

Inmates carry shovels at a snowed-in shelter for stray dogs in Glina, Romania, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. Inmates from the neighboring Jilava prison were mobilized, in temperatures below -15 degrees Centigrade (5 degrees Fahrenheit) to clear the snow after the shelter was snowed in following blizzards at the end of last week.

A man walks his dog along the Neris river in Vilnius, Lithuania, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, as morning temperatures plummeted to -23 degrees Celsius (-9 degrees Fahrenheit).

A severe and snowy cold snap across central and eastern Europe has left at least 54 people dead, cut off power to towns, and snarled traffic.

Red Cross workers, left, gives hot tea to homeless people in Donetsk, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 30, 2012.

Thirty people, most of them homeless, have died of hypothermia in recent days in Ukraine, part of a surge of deaths across eastern Europe as the region grapples with an unusually severe cold spell. Temperatures are expected to range from a high of -15 degrees C to lows around -20 C over the next week.

Smoke rises in front of the former tobacco company Yenidze during sunrise in Dresden, eastern Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. After a period of relatively mild weather a cold spell has reached central and eastern Europe.

Snow covers signage for a footpath near Wheddon Cross on January 30, 2012 on Exmoor, England. After unseasonably mild winter weather, some parts of the U.K. woke to a covering of snow as a cold spell of weather sets in, with forecasters warning temperatures are set to plunge as the week progresses.

People pass snow-covered palm trees at lake Lungolago in Lugano, Switzerland, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. After a period of relatively mild weather a cold spell has reached central and eastern Europe.

A group of skiers walks up to the snow-covered Wendelstein church on top of the Wendelstein mountain near Bayrischzell, southern Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012.

A cat walks on a snow-covered roof in Bucharest on January 31, 2012. Temperatures plunged to -27 degrees Celsius in central Romania, where four people died due to the cold, according to local media.

A girl looks out from a bus window covered with frost on January 30, 2012 as temperatures reached -15 degrees Celcius in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Thirty people have died of hypothermia in recent days in Ukraine, most of them homeless who froze to death in the streets or old people who died in their flats or after hospitalization.

People walk in snow-covered central Kiev as temperatures fell at -15 degrees Celsius on January 30, 2012.

Snow covers branches on a tree in front of a house near Dulverton on January 30, 2012 on Exmoor, England.

Snow falls as a horse stands in a snow-covered field near Dulverton on January 30, 2012 on Exmoor, England.

A 4x4 vehicle makes its way along a snow-covered road near Dunkery Hill, near Minehead on January 30, 2012 in Exmoor, England.

A pheasant stands in snow near Dulverton on January 30, 2012 on Exmoor, England.

An ice fisherman waits for a catch on a frozen lake near the Bulgarian capital Sofia, on January 30, 2012. Siberian cold front hit the Balkan country with temperatures dropping to -24 degrees Celsius in some places.

Frost-covered trees can be seen at the Essigberg near the central German city of Kassel on January 30, 2012. The Siberian cold front brought icy temperatures dropping to -10 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country.

A child is carried by its father in a backpack on a cold winter's day in Sofia, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. Heavy snow and freezing weather on Monday led to some deaths in Serbia and Bulgaria, prompting authorities to close down schools and introduce emergency measures. Exceptionally cold weather and snowstorms hit parts of central and eastern Europe last week, causing traffic chaos, road closures and electric outages that left entire villages cut off.

As temperatures dropped to around -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit), authorities urged people to be careful and remain indoors.

Reed sprouts are covered with thick ice at lake Zwischenahner Meer ind Bad Zwischenahn, northern Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. After a period of relatively mild weather a cold spell has reached central and eastern Europe.

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