Fear rose in Russia after arctic temperatures in Eastern Europe pushed the death toll to 89 people on Wednesday. Russian gas export monopoly Gazprom struggled to meet the demands while honoring long-term European contracts. 

The weather in Europe has dropped steeply this week after a Siberian system swung in from the east, Scientific American reported.

Overnight temperature in Ukraine reached minus 27 Fahrenheit. Forty-three people in Ukraine have died in the past five days.

ATM machines were frozen in Sofia, Bulgaria as the thermometers showed minus 22 Fahrenheit, according to Scientific American. 

As the gas demands in Russia spiked, Gazprom, which supplies a quarter of Europe’s gas imports, encountered difficulties accommodating the gas demands nationwide because requests from export markets increased as well.

Emergency measures were taken by the governments to prevent further deaths. Schools were closed temporarily. The Ukrainian government has put out hundreds of heated tents for the homeless. Reuters reported that Bosnia's government sent supplies to areas cut off by deep snow and used helicopters to evacuate the elderly. 

 

----------------------

 

Reach staff reporter Chenyi Ye here.