Heavy Snowfall Across Northern Europe Causes Traffic Paralysis
Major Airports and Railways in Germany Closed One After Another
Frankfurt Airport, the largest hub airport in Germany and Central Europe, experienced disruptions in runway operations due to heavy snowfall and extreme cold, resulting in delays and cancellations of hundreds of flights. As the cold wave continues to sweep across the Nordic region, concerns are growing that the affected areas will expand further.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 17th (local time), Frankfurt Airport in Germany announced in a statement that about 700 out of 1,030 flights scheduled to depart from Frankfurt were canceled. This is expected to strand approximately 115,000 passengers. Due to the extreme cold and heavy snowfall making flight operations difficult, Frankfurt Airport warned that a large number of flights are likely to be canceled again on the 18th.
In addition to Frankfurt Airport, airports across Germany hit by the cold wave have virtually come to a standstill. More than 250 flights were canceled in Munich. Flight delays and cancellations continued at D?sseldorf Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport in western Germany. Saarbr?cken Airport was completely closed.
In Germany, not only air travel but also land transportation is paralyzed. The state-owned railway Deutsche Bahn announced that many long-distance connections have been canceled, and the maximum speed of the high-speed ICE trains has been limited to 200 km/h. Roads across western and southern Germany have become icy due to snow and rain, causing a series of collisions. Schools and kindergartens across Germany have been ordered to close, and many companies have switched to remote work.
There are concerns that the damage from the extreme cold will not subside at least until this weekend. The German Weather Service issued a black ice (road icing) warning for most of southern Germany between the 17th and 18th due to heavy snowfall and extreme cold. A heavy snow warning is currently in effect for central Germany.
Damage is spreading not only in Germany but also across the Nordic region, which was hit by a sudden cold wave. Oslo Airport in Norway was closed from the morning of the same day due to heavy snowfall. At Gothenburg Landvetter Airport in Sweden, a plane heading to Amsterdam skidded off the runway. In the UK, more than 100 schools were ordered to close.
The entire Nordic region has been experiencing record-breaking cold waves below minus 40 degrees Celsius since last week. Lapland in northern Sweden recorded minus 43.6 degrees Celsius, and Kautokeino in northern Norway recorded minus 43.5 degrees Celsius, both marking the lowest temperatures in 25 years.
There is also analysis suggesting that this European cold wave is related to a large-scale El Ni?o phenomenon that began about three years ago. El Ni?o is a phenomenon where the sea surface temperature in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean is more than 0.5 degrees Celsius higher than average. Various weather anomalies occur in different regions, and it is especially known to bring increased winter precipitation and cold waves.
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