Germany experienced its coldest night in 22 years on January 06 as temperatures plummeted to more than 20 degrees below zero, affecting airport operations and commuter rail services. Officials at Frankfurt airport reported flight delays of up to two hours as temperatures dropped overnight in the wake of a day of heavy snowfall on January 05.
In Berlin, thousands of people were late for work after many commuter trains ground to a halt because parts froze up, a spokesman for the capital's transport authority said.
A thick layer of ice covered lakes and rivers in the northern state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, forcing shipping operators to cancel services. The eastern part of Germany was the worst affected region, with temperatures sinking as low as minus 26 centigrade at Delitzsch in the state of Saxony. Berlin experienced its coldest night of the year, with temperatures dropping to minus 19 centigrade in parts of the capital. Daytime temperatures were slightly warmer at minus 9.
In the eastern city of Weimar, a pensioner froze to death after slipping out of a nursing home undetected and spending the night outdoors. Meteorologists expected the extremely cold weather to continue for another night before temperatures started to rise towards the end of the week.
A leading German health insurance company advised men and women not to wear body-piercing jewellery during the cold snap. The Techniker Krankenkasse said there was a danger of the metal used in nose rings, eyebrow rings and belly button piercing freezing to the skin.