Cold snap claims 10 more victims in Poland to 65 since November

Ten people have died in Poland as bitterly cold weather swept Europe, bringing the toll of hypothermia deaths in the country to 65 since November, authorities said Monday.

Temperatures have plunged to below minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit) in some regions.

Sunday was the deadliest day in Poland this winter for cold-related deaths.

"Yesterday, 10 people died of cold," the centre for national security (RCB) said Monday in a statement, adding that "the number of hypothermia victims has reached 65," since November 1.

Police have asked people to aid those risking hypothermia, especially the homeless.  

The last winter in Poland was unusually mild but claimed 77 lives in the nation of 38 million, compared to 78 in 2013-2014 and 177 in 2012-2013.

A cold wave across Europe has left at least 33 dead since the weekend, many of them migrants or homeless people.

Heavy snowstorms also reached Turkey, paralysing its biggest city Istanbul where almost 65 centimetres (25 inches) of snow fell, forcing hundreds of flights to be cancelled on Saturday.

Source: AFP