Tourists heading to Europe in December 2023 have been advised to take precautions due to the cold weather that has gripped the continent in recent days.
December began with snowfall in many European countries. The countries of Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine and Moldova, were the first to be hit by snow, and then the snowfall spread to Poland, Germany, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and even some parts of Italy and Spain.
Meanwhile, in Ireland, for the first time in many years, the temperature dropped below zero, and ice and even snow were recorded in places.
Moreover, the weather on the European continent is expected to worsen in the coming days. Snowfall is also expected in the USA, reports SchengenVisaInfo.
In general, forecasters predict that this year’s winter will vary from month to month, but continental Europe and the eastern United States should expect some of the coldest temperatures.
At the same time, it is predicted that the cold weather will not last for a month – Europe will be “frozen” in waves. In particular, cold temperatures may invade Western and Central Europe towards the end of December.
On the other hand, some countries, including Germany, France, Great Britain, Spain, Turkey, and the Balkans, will even be warmer than usual at times.
How dangerous is the cold weather in Europe for tourists
First of all, tourists who come to Europe in December will have to take care of warmer clothes so as not to catch a cold. For this, you may have to buy additional luggage, because it will be difficult to fit all warm things in hand luggage.
It is also worth taking travel insurance more seriously, because in winter there are much more chances of catching a cold or getting injured, for example, by slipping on ice.
In addition, due to snowfall, disruptions in transport connections are possible. For example, over the weekend in Germany, there was a real transport collapse both on the railways and at the airports, which resulted in delays or cancellations of flights.
So, Munich airport temporarily suspended flights on the morning of December 5 due to freezing rain: all flights were either canceled or delayed from 6 am to noon. At the same time, the airport warned that many flights scheduled for the rest of the day could also be affected by severe weather conditions, writes The Independent.