New Delhi:
Severe winter weather gripped parts of Europe on Monday, with cold temperatures, icy roads and snowfalls hitting Germany and Poland.
In the northern German city of Hannover, a local autobahn was temporarily shut because of icy conditions. Commuters getting ready to go to work on the first workday of 2010 had to clear a thick layer of snow and ice from their cars.
Temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius are expected in the next few nights, according to meteorologists from the German Weather Service.
Snowfalls are expected to continue until the end of the week.
The cold weather also has Poland in its grip, with temperatures falling as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius in the northeast.
The sub-zero temperatures are also raising flood worries near Plock, 100 kilometres northwest of Warsaw, where a backlog of ice on the Vistula River has caused the river level to rise.
Icebreaker ships have been working since Tuesday to free up the river and although the river level is stabilising, there is still a flood threat.
There has been unusually heavy snow in China as well. Schools were closed on Monday after about 4 inches of snow fell on the capital.
With temperatures below freezing the snow and ice could be lingering all week. Beijing does not have the infrastructure needed to clear a large snowfall quickly - but what they lack in machinery they make up for in people power.
All across the city from restaurants to government offices people hit the streets with brooms and shovels to clear the roads. The international airport in Yantai, a major city in northern China, has been shut down for over 12 hours.