Greece plummets to record -23C as European cold snap sees 'enormous' dumping of snow

Roads made impassable by ice and many schools closed amid cold snap

Temperatures in Greece have hit record lows and Athens has seen a rare dusting of snow, as deadly winter weather continues to pummel Europe.

Northern Greece saw an all-time low of -23C on Tuesday, which was recorded in the city of Florina, disrupting roads, rail and bus services.

While tourists at the Acropolis were treated to a snow-globe scene on Tuesday, locals had to contend with roads made impassable by ice and many schools were closed in the Athens region.

Heavy rain and snow was also reported on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, which is more used to protracted periods of drought.

In Austria, authorities are issuing the highest avalanche warning possible for several regions, while more than 350 residents in Bavaria were snowed in and a teacher was killed while skiing in the Alps.

At least 14 weather-related deaths have been reported in Europe over the last week.

Schools remained closed in parts of Austria and southern Germany on Wednesday. Several roads and highways were also blocked leading to a 20km traffic jam near Munich and trucks had to deliver food to the snowed-in Bavarian community of Buchenhöhe near Berchtesgaden as snow continued falling across the northern Alps.

Austrian news agency APA reported that a 62-year-old teacher was killed while skiing in Mariazeller Bürgeralpe in Austria when he fell and got buried in a snowbank.

Forecasters reported “enormous” amounts of snow being dumped in Pizzoferrato, a town in southern Italy.

Many slopes have been closed as a precaution.

Additional reporting by Reuters