Lithuania recorded its lowest air temperatures in nearly three decades as severe cold gripped much of the country, the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service said Monday.
According to the service, temperatures early Monday fell to –34.3 C in Šeduva, in the Radviliškis district, –34 C in Ukmergė, and –33.9 C in Joniškis.
Meteo LT said a preliminary analysis of archival data shows that colder temperatures were last recorded about 30 years ago, on February 8, 1996, when temperatures dropped to –35 C in Tauragnai, in the Utena district.
“Although today’s temperatures were still far from the absolute cold record (–42.9 C, Utena, February 1, 1956), we did measure a record low for February 2,” Meteo LT said in a Facebook post.
The previous record low for February 2 was set 56 years ago in Varėna, when temperatures fell to –32.1 C. In Šeduva, temperatures overnight from Sunday to Monday were 2.3 degrees Celsius colder than that mark.
Due to the extreme cold, some schools across the country are holding remote classes on Monday and Tuesday.
Public transport disruptions
Severe cold across Lithuania on Monday caused disruptions to public transportation in the capital city Vilnius, Klaipėda, and Šiauliai.
In Vilnius, the city’s public transport company Susisiekimo paslaugos (JUDU) reported on Facebook that extreme weather had caused delays and technical malfunctions.
“Cold is testing us. Due to extreme weather conditions, we are currently experiencing unplanned public transport delays and technical failures,” the company said. “We understand this causes inconvenience to passengers and sincerely apologise. We encourage residents to monitor transport schedules via the online display boards.”
Meanwhile, Klaipėda’s public transport operator, Klaipėdos keleivinis transportas, said a record number of buses did not depart on Monday morning.
“This morning, the situation in public transport is very difficult – a record number of buses, dozens, did not go on route. Such numbers have never occurred in our history. On some key routes, the morning situation is extremely poor,” the company said on Facebook. “We apologise to passengers. We are currently investigating the reasons with our carriers and will take measures to prevent such situations in the future.”
Passengers in Klaipėda were advised to track buses using the company’s online map and plan trips according to real-time information.
The company said the worst problems affected carriers operating mostly diesel and gas-powered buses, while operators with primarily electric fleets were performing more reliably.
“Klaipėda expects the situation to normalise in the coming hours, but for now we encourage passengers to plan trips according to actual conditions,” the company added.
Bus services have also been disrupted in Šiauliai, Lithuania's fourth biggest town in the north of the country.
Power cuts
On Monday, approximately 3,500 households were left without electricity due to severe cold, according to the company Energijos skirstymo operatorius (ESO).
“Currently, approximately 3,500 consumers are experiencing power outages. Most of them are in the Kaunas, Alytus, and Vilnius regions,” ESO spokeswoman Rasa Juodkienė told BNS on Monday.
“Due to the extremely low temperature, the wires in the overhead lines became strained and broke,” she added.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
