The big freeze shows no sign of letting up in Europe as Venice's famed waterways fell victim to sub zero temperatures this morning. Water buses were stranded in some of the Italian city's canals after they froze solid in temperatures as low as -10C. More than 60,000 homes were left without power in Milan and officials declared a gas supply emergency as the cold temperatures saw pipes burst.
Chilly attraction: A small passenger boat makes its way through ice on a Venice canal as temperatures dropped to -10C
Big freeze: A water bus makes slow progress of the ice-choked canals in the picturesque Italian city
No go for gondolas: A view of the frozen north lagoon in Venice
Ice breaker: Another boat struggles along a lagoon in Venice. In nearby Milan, more than 60,000 homes were left without power and officials declared a gas supply emergency
A woman strolls down the street in the center of Skopje, capital of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Winter wonderland: The frozen canals of Amsterdam became a giant playground as residents cycle, skate and walk along the ice
Making use: People skate across frozen canals in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which have been closed to commercial shipping
Team effort: Dutch volunteers clear of the snow from the ice floor of the frozen river the Luts in Balk, north Netherlands
Seemply freezing: Two meerkats at London Zoo get to grips with the snowy conditions
Bath time: Two Ukrainian men take a dip in an ice hole in the Dnipro river in Kiev
Countries across Europe have been battling a severe cold snap for the last two weeks, with schools closed, public transport ground to a halt and snow melt threatening flooding to built up areas.
Another four people were killed by floods in southern Bulgaria, with 10 people still missing authorities said today, after a dam collapsed. Temperatures have plummeted as low as -36C in Ukraine, the hardest-hit country, with hundreds of people - many homeless - reported to have died across Europe. Last night, the Serbian government declared a state of emergency, after intense snowfall. Emergency officials said 70,000 people were cut off. Schools will also be closed in the Italian capital of Rome on Tuesday, as Italy copes with unusually heavy snow for the Mediterranean country.
Rescue: A man is evacuated in Biser, southern Bulgaria, after a dam wall broke and flooded the town
Iced in: People walk along the promenade on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, as a 4x4 stands completely covered by ice
Slippy: A woman walks on the frozen waterside of the boardwalk of the Lake Geneva, in Gland, Switzerland
Mush! A competitor speeds through the snow with his Siberian huskies during a dog race in Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany
Snow covered alpine houses on the mayen Lafet, 1,855 metres above sea level in the canton of Grisons, eastern Switzerland So far, ten deaths have been linked to winter weather, including two people who were crushed under a collapsed roof south of Rome, and a 91-year-old woman in the northeast port of Trieste who was knocked down by strong winds.
One for the album: A tourist takes a picture of the Bartholdi fountain in Lyon, eastern France
In Bosnia, hundreds of villages were stuck behind snowed-in roads and avalanches and authorities were using helicopters to evacuate the sick and deliver food. Authorities said they have had no contact for 72 hours with about 120 people in the central village of Zijemlja, where residents have no electricity or phone lines. In Poland, the Interior Ministry reported Monday that nine people died of hypothermia over the past 24 hours. Two elderly people were found frozen in Serbia and Bosnia, and Croatia reported four snow-related deaths. Ukraine's Emergency Situation Ministry said today the country's death toll now stands at 135, including many homeless people. Some 2,000 have been hospitalized for frostbite or hypothermia, it said. In the Netherlands, however, Europe's deep freeze means the country's almost mythical 'Eleven Cities Tour' ice skating marathon could be staged later this month for the first time in 15 years.
A rare visit from Mr frosty: Two women walk past a snowman in Algiers, Algeria. Meteorology reports suggest that the last time Algiers saw this amount of snow was at least seven years ago in 2005
Thick ice covers of the anchor of a ferry ship making her way among ice-floes floating in River Danube in Budapest, Hungary
Unseasonably cold: Even Algeria, in north Africa, has borne the brunt of the freezing weather with rare snowfall
Cut off: An isolated village is surrounded by heavy snowfall in Bosnia and Herzegovinia. Hundreds of people have been killed as temperatures plummeted as low as -36C in Eastern Europe
Monument: York Minister surrounded by snow. Britain has also been hit by snow as flights were cancelled at Heathrow and roads were blocked
In the air, Heathrow airport passengers were enraged that just three inches of snow led the third busiest airport in the world to cancel half of its flights over the weekend. However, the airport issued a statement this afternoon which read: 'We're operating a normal schedule today. Please continue to check your flight status with your airline.' A Downing Street spokesman said the return to normal service was a victory for the airport's snow plan following major disruption in December 2010, when the Spanish-owned airport authority BAA was heavily criticised by an inquiry for its ‘low state of preparedness’ as thousands of passengers were stranded. David Cameron's office said the decision to cut large numbers of flights over the weekend had prevented the lengthy queues seen last winter.
