Thousands of migrants in Greece and in the Balkans have been suffering in freezing temperatures and bad weather. Local authorities have failed to prepare emergency measures, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said.
A migrant tries to stay warm in a warehouse occupied by migrants in Belgrade, SerbiaImage: Getty Images/S. Stevanovic
Advertisement
Thousands of migrants have been living in simple tents in the freezing rain as they wait for authorities to process their asylum claims, MSF said on Monday. This situation creates various health risks, the medical aid group said in Geneva. Temperatures in the northern city of Thessaloniki have dropped to minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 F) at night over the past few days.
Giorgos Kyritsis, spokesman for the government's crisis committee on migration, told Greece's Skai television that just under 1,000 people were housed in tents on the eastern Aegean islands.
MSF said that more than 7,500 migrants were currently stranded in overcrowded camps or informal shelters in Europe.
"We are witnessing the most cruel and inhumane consequences of European policies, used as a tool to deter and victimize those who are only seeking safety and protection in Europe," said Stefano Argenziano, MSF's migration coordinator.
European Commission
The European Commission said on Monday that conditions for refugees on Greek islands and in other camps where they were housed in tents despite severe cold weather were "untenable."
In Brussels, Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said the commission was "doing its utmost to support the Greek authorities to address concerns relating to the reception centers and the humanitarian needs on the ground."
Migrants in Belgrade, Serbia took shelter in a warehouse near a rail station, rejecting government-provided shelters for fear they may be sent back to their countries.
Cold climate
Schools closed across central Serbia on Monday, but reopened in Moscow following Orthodox Christmas as temperatures rose to minus 20 degrees Celsius. It was the coldest Christmas night in Moscow in 120 years, according to media reports.
Snow snarled traffic in Istanbul and forced hundreds of cancellations at Istanbul's airport, according to the Dogan news agency. Up to 40 centimeters (16 inches) of snow fell on Turkey's largest city and halted shipping through the Bosphorus Strait.
kbd/jm (AFP, AP, dpa)
Cold brings chaos to Europe
Temperatures around freezing point and icy rain: Black ice caused numerous accidents over the weekend. At least six people died in central Europe. And winter is taking its toll elsewhere as well.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S. Ebel
Sleet from Lyon to Lübeck
On Saturday, large parts of central Europe were hit by black ice. In the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania (above), police closed several motorways after numerous accidents. In Lower Saxony, in northwestern Germany, two people died in a head-on collision. In France, four people died when a bus slid off the road near Lyon. Some 20 people were injured.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S. Ebel
Pavements like skating rinks
Black ice occurs when raindrops are so cold that they freeze while coming down to earth. This can turn pavements or roads into dangerous patches of ice within seconds or minutes. Drivers of vehicles are not the only ones in danger!
Image: picture alliance/dpa/D. Reinhardt
Istanbul: Late and canceled flights
Sleet can also crystallize on aircraft. The added weight can become a serious danger in the air. But in Istanbul, Turkey, hundreds of planes remained grounded at the city's two airports not because of sleet, but because of a heavy snowstorm. Road traffic also almost came to a halt at times.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/I. Yildlz
Spending winter nights outside
Temperatures in eastern Europe have dipped far under freezing point. During the winter months, more than 100 people freeze to death here every year. Most of them are homeless people. This winter, according to Human Rights Watch, some 2,000 refugees are sleeping out in the open or in tents in Serbia (above) and Hungary - at temperatures of currently -20 C (-4 F).
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMA Wire/D. Balducci
Snow in the Mediterranean
Winter has also come to the Greek island of Lesbos. In the refugee camp there (above), authorities handed out blankets and fan heaters to migrants and opened heated halls and underground stations for homeless people. Snow is very rare on the Greek islands. Local media in the port city of Rethymno on Crete said it snowed there for the first time in 40 years on Sunday morning.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/STR
Winter joys - and sorrows
Russia, on the other hand, is very used to bone-chilling temperatures. Many people there - as here in Moscow - make a virtue of necessity and have fun in the cold. But people freeze to death here every year as well. And the temperatures are extremely low at present, going down to -50 C in some places - some 15 degrees less than is usual at this time of year.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/N. Kolesnikova
Bleak outlook
The morning after the black ice, thick fog envelops much of central Europe. The Rhine can barely be seen from the windows of Deutsche Welle in Bonn, even though the river is just some 200 meters (yards) away. And the forecasts remain gloomy: Temperatures are meant to rise in the next few days, but winter could still be in for the long - and very cold - haul.
