GERMANY: As bitterly cold weather causes havoc across much of Europe, winter sports fans in Berlin have fun on the city's frozen lakes

Record ID: 333225

  • Title: GERMANY: As bitterly cold weather causes havoc across much of Europe, winter sports fans in Berlin have fun on the city's frozen lakes
  • Date: 4th February 2012
  • Summary: SLATE INFORMATION
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Weather,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA979ELT1ELZI9VZ3HHZHRS64KE
  • Story Text: Fans of winter sports were some of the few people seen to be taking advantage of the sudden burst of wintry weather in Germany on Friday (February 3).
    As temperatures plummeted below freezing, the river Spree, which runs through the capital Berlin, froze over and large chunks of ice could be seen floating past the Reichstag parliament building.
    Despite lows of minus 16 Celsius (3 Fahrenheit) in some areas, local police continued their warning that the rivers and lakes in the area were not yet stable enough to be walked on.
    "We are making sure that we warn the children, especially now in the holidays. Sometimes if the parents aren't with them, we send them off the ice. The ice isn't as strong in the canals and around the bridges," said Tobias Berger from the water protection police, as he and his colleague carried out tests on the ice on the Mueggelsee lake in eastern Berlin.
    "Never at night, never in the dark, never in the evening and never alone," was his warning to people wanting to take to the lakes.
    But this didn't put off ice hockey and curling enthusiasts who could be seen making the most of the frozen weather as the sun shone down on the Mueggelsee.
    Meanwhile temperatures plummeted to minus 37 Celsius (minus 35 Fahrenheit) in northern Slovakia and rescue workers dug through snow on mountain roads to rescue stranded bus passengers in the Balkans.
    In Ukraine 101 people have now died - a further 38 in the past 24 hours - and supermarkets are short of food as trucks struggle to make deliveries. Eight more have died in Poland since Thursday (February 2).
    German weather service DWD said it expected extreme cold to continue in central and eastern Europe for the next four days, but that temperatures would rise back above freezing point in most parts of France and Britain.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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