Snow

There will be intermittent snowfall and rainfall over Bulgaria over the course of a week, the head of the country's weather service has said.

Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas was prevented for a second time on Tuesday from reaching the island of Lesvos, where he hopes to inspect a migrant camp amid criticism of conditions from aid workers and European authorities.

Large parts of the Attica region, including downtown Athens are covered in snow, causing disruptions in transports throughout the city. The Greek meteorological services (EMY) warned in an bulletin that the weather would deteriorate even further. Heavy snow started falling from 8pm in all the suburbs around Athens, even in seaside areas.

Greece has been hit by a wave of harsh weather for the past days, with snow covering many areas of the country. But these extreme weather conditions are quite ordinary for countries like Russia. Dealing with the effects of large snow falls and below zero temperatures is part of their daily life during the coldest months of the year.

Ten people have become victim to the cold weather in Poland over the last two days when temperatures fell to -20. Over the weekend, low temperatures will remain.

The entire republican road network in the region of Razgrad is closed for all types of vehicles. There is heavy snowfall in the region, while visibility has been reduced to a few metres, reported the Regional Road Department.

Turkish officials have warned of storms and heavy snowfall across Turkey, including Istanbul, for Jan. 6 as wintry weather continues to hit the country. 

According to the General Directorate of Meteorology, heavy snow will fall in Istanbul on Jan. 6, with temperatures expected to plunge by up to eight degrees to -5 Celsius and snow expected to continue for three days. 

Four people were wounded after heavy snow caused the roof of a bazaar building to collapse on them in the Central Anatolian province of Konya on Jan. 5, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported. 

A fresh wave of cold weather is expected to grip Greece from Thursday after a brief respite this week, with meteorologists forecasting temperatures as low as -5 Celsius in the capital's northern suburbs over the weekend.

Drivers in mountainous parts of Halkidiki, northern Greece, were advised to use snow chains as temperatures dipped considerably Friday and snow had covered large parts of the region, authorities said.