Extreme cold and snowstorms impact travel and schools in Scandinavia – Europe live – The Guardian

Despite the cold temperatures, the Danish queen takes one last carriage ride as monarch

Portal reported that despite the cold weather, Denmark's Queen Margrethe II rode through the streets of Copenhagen in a gold-covered horse-drawn carriage for the last time as monarch.

She will hand over the throne to her son Crown Prince Frederik next week.

Here are photos:

Two people died in an avalanche in Finnish Lapland

Miranda Bryant

A mother and child caught in an avalanche in Finnish Lapland have been found dead, while around 1,000 cars were trapped in a snowstorm overnight in southern Sweden as extreme cold continues to hit Nordic countries.

Police said the child was found dead on Thursday morning in Pyhäkuru, near where his mother was found on Tuesday after she was hit by an avalanche while skiing.

“The sequence of events following the emergency call is hardly entirely clear, but very poor weather conditions combined with an avalanche appear to have caused this sad and unusual accident,” said Detective Inspector Kirsi Huhtamäki, who is leading the investigation.

In Sweden, which experienced record-breaking temperatures this week, emergency services and the army worked to free passengers on the E22 between Hörby and Kristianstad in southern Sweden, some of whom had been trapped for 24 hours. The road is not expected to reopen until Friday morning.

Temperatures in the north of the country fell below -40°C for the second day in a row on Wednesday. This came after Kvikkjokk-Årrenjarka in Swedish Lapland recorded -43.6°C on Tuesday evening – the lowest January temperature recorded in the country in a quarter of a century.

Emergency services in Kristianstad said on Thursday that armed forces vehicles were collecting people stuck in their vehicles on the E22.

“The road is long, about 3 miles,” they said. “Cars and trucks need to be removed and the road cleared of snow before it can be opened to traffic.”

Updated at 11.08 GMT

And here are pictures from Finland.

Updated at 11.01 GMT

Here is a photo from Denmark, where vehicles were also stuck after a snowstorm.

Updated at 11:00 GMT

It is (very) cold in Finland

Here is an update from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Updated at 10.02 GMT

Here are photos from northern Europe, where cold temperatures and snow have caused major disruption this week.

Updated at 10:37 GMT

Cars are stuck in the snow in Sweden

Cars are slowly being rescued from a road in Sweden where 1,000 vehicles were trapped by heavy snow.

Dagens Nyheter reported that around 200 cars were still stuck on the E22 as of 10 a.m. local time (09:00 GMT). Some have been trapped since Wednesday morning.

According to Swedish authorities, the road is expected to reopen on Friday morning.

Updated at 10.44 GMT

Extreme cold and snowstorms are affecting travel and schools in Scandinavia

Extreme cold and snowstorms have caused traffic disruptions and school closures in Scandinavia, while strong winds and heavy rains have led to flooding and at least one death in western Europe.

On Wednesday, temperatures in the Nordic region fell below -40°C for the second day in a row. In Kvikkjokk-Årrenjarka in Swedish Lapland, the mercury temperature fell to -43.6°C, the lowest January temperature recorded in Sweden in 25 years, the country's TT news agency reported.

Extreme cold, snow and gale force winds affected transport across the Nordic region, with several bridges closed and some train and ferry services suspended. Several schools were also closed in Scandinavia.

Police in most parts of Denmark urged motorists to avoid unnecessary journeys as wind and snow lashed northern and western parts of the country.

The wave of cold air from Siberia and the Arctic has also swept across western Russia, with temperatures in Moscow and other areas plunging to -30C, well below average temperatures in early January.

Read more here.

Updated at 10.50 GMT