(Bloomberg) -- European cities from Austria to Spain are bracing for the coldest weather in four years, putting further pressure on gas inventories as heating demand increases.
The freezing conditions, already gripping the UK and parts of Scandinavia, will spread to continental Europe by the weekend. Salzburg in Austria is forecast to see lows of -15C (5F) on Monday, according to Weather Services International. Madrid is expected to reach -7C, the lowest since 2021.
The icy temperatures are pushing up heating demand to its highest level this winter, days after Russian gas flows were halted through a key pipeline route via Ukraine. Europe’s gas storages are depleting at the fastest rate in eight years.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice are still in place on Tuesday for the UK, with the risk of further snow across the south of England, including London, on Wednesday.
In London, the mean temperature is forecast to drop as low as 1C on Jan. 9, 4 degrees below the 30-year norm. As much as 10 centimeters of snow could disrupt road, rail and air travel as a low pressure system to the south of the UK collides with colder air, according to Honor Criswick, a meteorologist at the Met Office.
The UK’s coldest night of the winter was recorded in Lock Glascarnoch in Scotland earlier this week, with the mercury plunging to -13.3C.
Northwest Europe has a daily average of 17 heating degree days for the six to 10 day forecast, three above the 10-year norm.
There are also snow and ice alerts for northeast France and northwest Italy. An amber warning is in place for heavy snow in the region southwest of Oslo, where the minimum temperature could drop as low as -22C on Sunday.
Elsewhere in Europe, strong winds are impacting a number of countries.
In Spain, warnings are in force for the coast of Galicia where gusts of about 70 kilometers an hour are whipping up high waves, according to forecaster Aemet. Orange wind warnings also cover large parts of Germany.
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