Snow in the UK causes travel chaos and energy dreads

London
Cnn
—

Snow blanketed London and large parts of the UK on Monday, closing schools, halting flights and causing widespread disruption in a country grappling with a winter energy crisis.

Britain recorded its coldest day of the year during the early hours of Monday morning, with temperatures as low as minus 15.7 degrees Celsius (4 degrees Fahrenheit) in northern Scotland, according to the Met Office, the UK’s national weather service. United Kingdom.

The cold snap has left many parts of the country, including London, covered in snow since Sunday evening. The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for parts of the country.

Motorists were urged to avoid driving in several locations, with some forced to abandon their cars. Many schools have been closed. Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports, all of which serve the capital, have warned of flight delays and cancellations.

Despite the disruption, the arrival of snow two weeks before Christmas brought a festive atmosphere to Britain’s parks and streets.

Snowfall is relatively rare in southern England compared to northern Britain and mainland Europe, and Britons often complain that the country’s infrastructure is unprepared when the cold arrives.

Inflation and an energy crisis have added to concerns this year, as household bills have soared and people worry about whether they can afford to heat their homes.

National Grid, which manages much of the UK’s energy supply infrastructure, has ordered two coal-fired power stations to start warming up, in case cold weather threatens the country’s electricity grid, the agency reported. British press PA Media.

The company said it was a “contingency” plan, which aimed to “give the public confidence in Monday’s power delivery,” according to PA.

Some energy utility customers are also being asked to cut their consumption for two hours on Monday evening, in a pre-scheduled test conducted by National Grid.

Sunday’s snowfall came after several days of cold and freezing weather which had already caused tragedies in Solihull in central England.

West Midlands Police said three boys, aged 8, 10 and 11, died in hospital after falling into a lake on Sunday afternoon. A fourth boy, aged six, remains in critical condition.

“The search in the lake continues as we try to establish exactly what happened and whether anyone else fell into the water,” police said in a statement on Monday.