By: Natalya Kovalenko, Siberian frosts have reached Europe. In France, the temperature is currently -10º Celsius, in Serbia, -20º, and in Austria, -30º. Europeans are not accustomed to such frosts. Over 60 people in Europe have already died of cold. It is homeless and old people who usually become victims of frost. In Prague, the mayor’s office has ordered to open shelters where homeless people can get warm, all over the city. According to estimates, in total, these shelters could host up to 3,000 people. In Ukraine, about 1,500 shelters for the homeless people were opened. In Poland, bus stops are being heated. In Bucharest, one of the local jails is employing its prisoners in saving stray dogs in return for a small sum and a positive behavior record. In Turkey and Greece, a number of airports and railway stations are working irregularly because of heavy snowfalls. In Bulgaria, the port in the city of Varna on the Black Sea is closed. “The frost has been brought by an anticyclone from Siberia,” Chief Specialist of the Russian weather service Marina Makarova says. “This anticyclone forms every winter when cold air concentrates in Siberia, which is mainly flat territory.” “In the second half of winter, these masses of cold air start to move from Siberia to Europe. Each year, it depends on many things how far they move. This year, because of a certain configuration of air streams in the atmosphere, the cold air from Siberia has spread further than usual. Moreover, it is still spreading further. Anticyclones from Siberia usually come for a rather long time. Thus, most likely, Europe has to expect at least another week of fierce frosts.” For foreigners, Russia usually is associated with frosts. But for Russians themselves, the frosts which they are experiencing now are rather an abnormality than a norm. In the Far East, rivers have frozen to the bottom and fishes are ice-bound. Moreover, the same happened in a place which has always been considered to be one of Russia’s warmest regions – the coast of the Black Sea. In another usually warm part of Russia, the Caucasus, the temperature is currently -15º Celsius, and in Russia’s coldest region, Yakutia, -50º. Here is Marina Makarova again: “Frosts are typical for Russia in late January and early February, but in this year, they are obviously stronger than usual. At present, in many parts of Russia, it is colder by 7º to 12º if compared with the average temperature of this time of the year, and in some, even by 15º.” Now, what should you do to protect yourself from the cold? Doctors say that just being warmly dressed is not enough. As a good preventive measure, they recommend a special diet. Doctor Tatyana Semenchenya says: “The food that I would recommend is probably not tasty – but take it as a medicine, after all. A good source of energy is lard. It goes well with onion or garlic, for these vegetables are rich with substances which kill bacteria. Bullions, roasted meat, bread, butter and cakes can also help to get warm.” Paradoxical as it may sound, doctors also recommend to protect oneself from frosts by… eating ice-cream, as it is a high-calorie product. And, as for mulled wine, which is sold at every corner in winter in Europe, doctors call it “a great deceiver”. Mulled wine does help to get warm for a short time, for it widens blood vessels, but this is only a surer way to catch a cold in the end.Source: Voice of Russia.
