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Ruth Mottram: 'We have never seen this kind of temperature'
It's a monster winter storm, the likes of which Europe has never experienced before.
The "Beast from the East" weather system, a plume of cold air from Russia, has swept the continent, leading temperatures to drop to -20 degrees in some places.
Temperatures are plummeting in the UK and Ireland, where heavy snowfall is causing major travel disruptions.
Yet despite it being the middle of winter, the Arctic is experiencing unprecedented warmth, Danish Meteorological Institute climate scientist Ruth Mottram told Mike Hosking.
"If we look back through our records of a particular location in northern Greenland, we have never seen this kind of temperature range persisting for this long."
The snowstorm led to Rome's first snowfall in six years with the temperature reaching -4 and covering famous tourist sites like the Colisseum and the Vatican, while also reaching as far south as Greece.
Two people died of exposure in Poland, while in Lithuania, temperatures dropped to -20 degrees and France saw lows of -10.
In Belgium, one local mayor has warned homeless people they will be detained by police if they refuse to go to shelters. Berlin is also expected to see temperatures of -20, while Britain is suffering its coldest spell since 1991, according to the Met Office.
The storm has led to travel chaos, with schools, flight and train services cancelled. In the UK, it prompted pre-emptive school closures and cancellation of rail services, with hundreds of trains going down amid fears of snow and ice on the tracks.
- with content from news.com.au
LISTEN TO RUTH MOTTRAM TALK WITH MIKE HOSKING ABOVE
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By Newstalk ZBIt's a monster winter storm, the likes of which Europe has never experienced before.
The "Beast from the East" weather system, a plume of cold air from Russia, has swept the continent, leading temperatures to drop to -20 degrees in some places.
Temperatures are plummeting in the UK and Ireland, where heavy snowfall is causing major travel disruptions.
Yet despite it being the middle of winter, the Arctic is experiencing unprecedented warmth, Danish Meteorological Institute climate scientist Ruth Mottram told Mike Hosking.
"If we look back through our records of a particular location in northern Greenland, we have never seen this kind of temperature range persisting for this long."
The snowstorm led to Rome's first snowfall in six years with the temperature reaching -4 and covering famous tourist sites like the Colisseum and the Vatican, while also reaching as far south as Greece.
Two people died of exposure in Poland, while in Lithuania, temperatures dropped to -20 degrees and France saw lows of -10.
In Belgium, one local mayor has warned homeless people they will be detained by police if they refuse to go to shelters. Berlin is also expected to see temperatures of -20, while Britain is suffering its coldest spell since 1991, according to the Met Office.
The storm has led to travel chaos, with schools, flight and train services cancelled. In the UK, it prompted pre-emptive school closures and cancellation of rail services, with hundreds of trains going down amid fears of snow and ice on the tracks.
- with content from news.com.au
LISTEN TO RUTH MOTTRAM TALK WITH MIKE HOSKING ABOVE