One of the coldest winters in record is causing havoc in a country used to milder weather.
Tirana Times
TIRANA, Feb 9 – If you are grabbing this newspaper at the airport on the way into Albania, bundle up, it’s likely colder than you expect this February. In fact, it is pretty much as cold as it gets in Albania.
Like much of the continent, Albania has been in the midst of one of its coldest winters in memory, as snow, ice and record-breaking cold temperatures have hit the entire country, isolating remote villages and placing lives in danger.
As usual, the mountainous northern areas were hit hardest, with roads blocked and many mountain municipalities isolated by snow and ice reporting health and food emergencies.
The government has set up emergency services and an inter-mini-stry committee to handle the situation, which was rapidly developing into a weather emergency, requiring food and medicine deliveries be done by helico-pter in some isolated areas.
In addition to heavy snow, it has been bitterly cold by Albanian standards. In places like Dibra County temperatures reached -20 degrees Celsius. Many municipalities in mountain areas of the northeast and southeast have totally isolated for days from the rest of the country due to cold weather. Thickness of snow in some villages exceeded 2 meters.
Tirana, which usually has mild Mediterranean winters, saw temperatures of as low as -8 degrees Celsius. The electricity grid has had to cope with increased demand, since many Albanians still use electricity as a primary heating source. Many water pipes in Tirana buildings have also burst, because the city’s infrastructure is not designed for such low temperatures.
Sleeping outside can prove deadly at these temperatures. A 35-year-old man was found dead last week from hypothermia in the banks of Tirana’s Lana River. Police’s preliminary investigation suggests he was intoxicated, passed out and froze to death in his sleep.
Authorities spring to action
Faced with the emergency situation, Albania’s government has set up an emergency body made up of health, defense and public works officials to monitor the situation 24 hours a day. It is headed by Interior Minister Bujar Nishani.
He said they were preparing for a lengthy challenge ahead as weather forecasters were predicting the extreme cold weather would continue for several days.
“The weather forecast Šis telling us the weather will deteriorate and the situation will become even harder,” he said on Feb. 8.
Minister Nishani added they were setting up ways to provide assistance primary to people in remote areas, coordinating with local authorities in areas affected by the bad weather.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha said the government was sending special police forces and emergency helicopters to assist.
“All our resources will be used to provide emergency healthcare and supplies to snowbound areas,” he said.
Beyond emergency services aimed at preventing human loses, experts at the agriculture ministry also note there will likely be economical damage from the cold snap as this season’s lower temperatures damage olive trees and citrus fruits, increasingly important crops in the Albanian economy.
Unusual weather for Albania
Climate experts note that winters in Albania had been getting milder and milder in terms of temperatures. What’s happening this year has not been seen sine the mid-1980s, they add.
Due to its varied landscape, Albania is home to several climates, which is also unusual for a country its size, but generally winters are mild in the lowlands, where most of the population lives. The lowlands typical winter will have average temperatures of 6 degrees Celcius. Inland temperatures are affected by elevation, so average summer temperatures are lower. Most of Albania gets a lot of precipitation in the winter, which in the mountains comes in a form of a lot of snow. And there is a lot of it too this year, meteorologists explain.
Region and continent also suffering
Across the border into Kosovo, thing were even worse than in Albania. A number of municipalities had declared a state of emergency while troops were sent in to open roads. Some areas in Kosovo saw temperatures fall to -22 degrees Celsius. Classes in many schools were canceled as a result.
As in Albania, and pretty much everywhere in the region, there were problems with the electricity grid. The cold spell has lifted power consumption to record highs across the region, forcing electricity companies to seek as much imported electricity as they can get to meet soaring demand.
Media across Europe point out this winter will likey be remembered for a long time. The cold snap in Albania, which is expected to last for the rest of the month, has seen is part of continent wide unusually brutal winter blamed for hundreds of deaths across Europe.
Officials quoted by wire services say the death toll across Europe has now climbed to more than 400 people, with new fatalities being reported in central and eastern Europe.
As parts of Europe issue emergency declarations, forecasters warn it could be several weeks before the vicious cold snap departs.
Omar Baddour with the World Meteorological Organization told wire services he expects the sub-zero temperatures to start warming next week. Baddour added it could take until the end of the month for Europe to see a significant change.
Italy has also been hit with heavy snow and at the Vatican, Pope Benedict prayed for victims of the bitter cold, according to Italian media.
“In the past weeks a wave of cold weather and ice have battered parts of Europe, bringing with it grave disruptions and heavy damage,” he said. “I wish to express my proximity to all the people affected by such adverse weather conditions and invite you to pray for the victims and their families. At the same time I call for solidarity So that the people tested by such tragic events may be helped with generosity.”
European media add officials have warned that even warmer temperatures may bring little relief, instead causing more damage and death as melting snow causes rivers to flood their banks.
