Cold weather in Europe

The cold weather has struck in Europe and demand for natural gas has picked up. Let me give a status update.

United Kingdom:

Preparations have been made across London to deal with what is forecast to be 5-10cm (up to 4in) of snow falling across England's capital city. Transport for London (TfL) said that over 100,000 tonnes of salt was ready to put on the roads, more than before.

Austria:

In Austria, temperatures in the western city of Salzburg hovered around 7 degrees Fahrenheit (-14 Celsius) on Saturday, and a technical problem at a power plant left 10,000 households without heating on Saturday.

Boznia and Herzegovina:

Rescue helicopters evacuated dozens of people from snow-blocked villages in Bosnia and air-lifted in emergency food and medicine as a severe cold spell kept Eastern Europe in its icy grip. Two helicopters were used Wednesday to rescue people and supply remote villages in northern Bosnia. All together some 200-300 people are cut off. Some villages have had no electricity for two days and crews were working around-the-clock trying to fix power lines. The snow is about two meters high (6 feet) and we have cleared off paths that look more like tunnels.

Ukraine:

In Ukraine, the cold led to more than 600 people being treated for frostbite and hypothermia within three days, according to officials. Nearly 24,000 people sought shelter during the same three days, and at least 30 people have died.

Moskow:

In Moscow, 15 people froze to death at the weekend, some because of exposure while intoxicated, city hall officials said. Overnight temperatures were -23 Celsius. All schools in Russia's central Siberian Khanty-Mantaisky region were closed because of daytime temperatures of -30 Celsius. Heavy snowfall in Russia's Kuban region, in the foothills of the Caucasian Mountains, left 17,800 people without power and closed airports and major highways. Overnight snow accumulation was 35 centimetres at some locations.