(Athens) Snow covered much of Greece on Monday, up to the southern island of Crete, due to a cold spell with temperatures that sometimes dropped to -14 degrees Celsius, causing power cuts and roads.
Posted at 7:30 a.m.
Snow fell for the first time this winter in the center of Athens, which led to the closure of the Greek Parliament as well as schools.
Air and maritime transport were not impacted, but the circulation of metro trains to the airport of the capital was disrupted.
“It is an extreme situation for our country,” commented Christos Zerefos, a professor of atmospheric physics, on the public television channel ERT.
Costas Lagouvardos, the research director at the National Observatory in Athens, meanwhile told TV channel ANT1 that the capital had not seen such weather since 1968.
Snow even fell on several Greek islands in the Aegean Sea (between Greece and Turkey), isolating some mountain villages on those of Andros, Naxos and Tinos and covering the beaches of Mykonos.
Heavy snowfall also occurred on the island of Euboea, north of Athens, already ravaged by fires this summer.
Municipalities there have stepped up efforts to keep major roads open, while many villages have suffered power cuts.
Snowfall is expected to continue on Tuesday, with temperatures below zero, civil protection said.