While the severe Arctic freeze continues to pummel the US and Canada, Greece basks under unseasonal warm sunshine with temperatures reaching 20° Celsius (68° Fahrenheit).
At least thirty-eight deaths have now been linked to the freezing weather in North America. Officials say thirty-four people died across the US, with the worst-hit area being the city of Buffalo in New York state.
Four fatalities were reported in Canada when a bus rolled over on an icy road near the town of Merritt in the western province of British Columbia.
The scope of the winter storm has been unprecedented, stretching from Canada as far south as the Rio Grande.
Forecasters say the storm will ease off in the next few days, but people are advised to continue avoiding travel unless essential.
The storm has wreaked havoc for days, but power has been steadily restored after earlier blackouts.
Almost two hundred thousand customers were without power as of Sunday afternoon EDT, down from a peak of 1.7 million, the Associated Press reports.
Unlike the US, Greece records high temperatures
Greece, however, has been recording very high temperatures for the season. Temperatures have been up to seven degrees higher on the Celsius scale than the average of the period for 2010 to 2020. Higher than usual temperatures were recorded on Christmas Day, according to the Athens National Observatory’s meteo.gr automatic meteorological stations network.
Temperatures reached and in some areas exceeded 20° Celsius. The highest temperatures were recorded in Paleohora of the Chania region (20.1° Celsius), Makrohori of Veria (20.1° Celsius), Veria town (19.9° Celsius), Dion in Pieria (19.9° Celsius), Petrokefali Moiron οn Crete (19.9° Celsius), Kalamata (19.8° Celsius), Moschato in the Attica region (19.8° Celsius), and in Sparti (19.8° Celsius).
The high temperatures for the season prompted many winter swimmers to go to the beaches for a swim on Christmas Day. Meteorologists say that the warm spell in Greece will last until next weekend.
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