Europe remained Wednesday gripped by a blast of Siberian weather which has killed at least 24 people and carpeted palm-lined Mediterranean beaches in snow.
The frigid temperatures, down to minus 24 degrees Celsius (minus 11 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Germany and minus 29 in Estonia overnight, have prompted warnings for the most vulnerable homeless and elderly.
Cities across the continent have been providing emergency shelter and relief to rough sleepers, who accounted for most of the deaths since Friday.
Heavy snow falls on the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, on Wednesday morning as Europe remains gripped in a blast of Siberian weather that has killed at least 24 people
A woman takes a picture of the snow in Bilbao on Wednesday morning. In total 20 Spanish provinces have been put on alert for snow as a front dubbed Storm Emma sweeps across the country
A couple stroll along the snow-covered beach of Sardinero after a snowfall in Santander, northern Spain, on Wednesday
Snow in Santander on Wednesday morning. Much of the north of the country is expected to see a coating of powder on Wednesday, with school transport cancelled across Catalonia
Orange alerts were issued for snow and wind across the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Basque Country, Navarra and Aragon on Wednesday according to Spain’s national weather agency (pictured, Santander)
A plough clears the snow covering the square of Virgen Blanca after a snowfall in Vitoria, northern Spain, on Wednesday
A deliveryman makes his way through the snow-covered streets in Vitoria, northern Spain, as Storm Emma combined with the Siberian cold snap to cause travel chaos
Palm trees were coated with snow in Bilbao on Wednesday as northern Spain suffered through the cold snap
Gondolas were coated with powder as the sun rose over Venice on Wednesday following snowfall the night before
Gondolieres spent the morning cleaning snow from their boats in the hopes of attracting some hardy customers
Poland has reported at least nine deaths with four in France, including an nonagenarian who was found Tuesday outside the gate to her retirement home. Five have died in Lithuania, three in the Czech Republic and two in Romania, including an 83-year-old woman found on the streets covered in snow, and one homeless person in Italy.
The frigid weather was set to continue Wednesday, with temperatures down to minus 12 C expected in northen France and minus 6 C in the usually mild south.
More snow was forecast for Spain, including Catalonia where school transport has been cancelled. Classes have also been suspended in the Canary Islands which is being lashed by powerful winds.
While the Arctic is seeing record high temperatures, the cold snap across Europe has brought snow even to the balmy Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Capri.
This newlywed couple managed to take some truly unique wedding pictures in St Mark’s Square, Venice
Usually crowded outdoor seating areas in Venice were left abandoned as tourists stayed indoors away from the cold
In Rome, the temperature was cold enough to freeze the water in the Naiadi fountain, in the Piazza della Repubblica
People pick their way across an icy Palazzo Ducale in Venice on Wednesday after the previous night’s snowfall froze
A child adds a carrot nose to this snowman who appears to have frozen solid amid a cold weather snap across Europe
A man stops to take a picture with a snowman in St Mark’s Square in Venice which has also been blanketed with snow
In Barcelona, Formula 1 crews were confronted with snow during the third day of testing ahead of the Grand Prix
The racetrack in Barcelona is deserted on what should have been a third day of testing for the Grand Prix after snow fell
In Belgium, towns including Etterbeek, Verviers and Charleroi have resorted to ordering police to detain homeless people if they refuse to go to shelters.
The Red Cross, which has set up emergency teams across Europe, urged people to keep an eye on neighbours and relatives.
“Just knocking on someone’s door to check they have everything they need can make a huge difference. It could even be the difference between life and death,” it said.
The charity also issued public appeals for 10,000 blankets in France, where about 50 local officials in the Paris region have vowed to spend Tuesday night outdoors to call attention to the plight of those with nowhere to sleep.
“The point is not to stage a show, but to denounce a system that isn’t working,” said Mama Sy, a deputy mayor in the Paris suburb of Etampes.
Paris authorities counted 3,000 rough-sleepers in the city’s first-ever homeless census this month, warning it was likely significantly underestimated.
In England, where heavy snow was dumped on London Tuesday, tabloids have dubbed the snap “the Beast from the East”, while the Dutch are calling it the “Siberian bear” and Swedes the “snow cannon”.
Snow even made it as far south as Montpellier, France. Here, a man carried his paddleboard across the snow-covered sands of Palavas Les Flots on Wednesday morning
A local takes a picture of the snow near Montpellier. Temperatures in the region dipped as low as -3C on Wednesday
A coach and a bus sit alongside the motorway in Briscous, near Bayonne, in southwestern France after crashing
Trucks remain stuck at the side of the motorway in southwestern France after heavy snowfall overnight on Tuesday
Traffic snarls to a halt in the Spanish port city of San Sebastian, in Basque Country, amid heavy snow
Motorists are reduced to a walking pace as they try to commute to work early on Wednesday in San Sebastian
A Civil Guard car drives through a road blocked for traffic due to a snowfall in Vigo, province of Galicia, northwestern Spain
The usually balmy island of Corsica, in the Mediterranean, even got a coating of snow on Tuesday. Pictured is the beach in the bay of Palavas Les Flots
British Airways cancelled roughly 60 flights in and out of London Heathrow airport.
The Met Office forecaster said rural communities could be cut off for days by snowdrifts, warning of “long interruptions to power supplies and other services such as telephone and mobile phone networks.”
Some of the iciest conditions were reported in Italy, where many schools and daycare centres were closed, to the consternation of parents already preparing for closures next week linked to this weekend’s general election.
Italians’ anger was also growing over nationwide disruptions to rail services as a lack of defrosting equipment on the tracks meant workers having to clear snow and ice by hand.
In Naples, the airport was closed early Tuesday and bus services in the city halted because of ice, though the weather was getting warmer in Rome, where schools were expected to reopen Wednesday.
A driver in Turin got a fright when an ice shard broke off from an overhead bridge and shattered his windshield – though he managed to keep control of his vehicle.
Russia’s Gazprom, a major gas supplier to Europe, said it had sent record exports to the continent over the past six days, peaking at 667 million cubic metres (23.6 billion cubic feet) on Monday as people turned up their thermostats.