In Pictures

The first real advance of the northern winter

A little early for some, winter snow comes south to Asia, Europe and the US.

Footie in the snow — Two football players clash as German teams play in the snow at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin [AFP]

The first surge of winter cold has just come south to the continents of the northern hemisphere. After a warm spell of many weeks, a drop of 10 to 20 degrees Celsius happened virtually overnight.

Heavy snow came to northern Japan, beating a 62-year-old November snowfall record in Sapporo.

Alpine skiers in Europe enjoyed the early boost to the downhill season, but the unwelcome cold further east simply made things miserable for the refugees en route from the Mediterranean.

Traffic-stopping blizzards in the US brought arctic scenes to the High Plains and a wintry outlook for many during this Thanksgiving weekend.

Night snow satellite us — A streak of snow across the United States, as seen at night from space [AFP/NASA]

Monks in the snow — Practising for the Shaolin Zen Music Festival, monks in the snow in Zhengzhou, Henan, China [Getty]

Cycling ni the snow Cina — Cycling in Taiyuan, Shanxi as 15cm of snow piles up in China [Getty]

Snow in Sapporo — Clearing the record-breaking snow in Sapporo, Japan [Reuters]

Basque snow — Photographing the evidence - Spanish Civil Guards in Mezquiriz, Navarra, northern Spain [EPA]

Refugee bikes in the snow — Bikes donated for refugees are covered in snow in front of a shelter for asylum seekers in Pfronten, southern Germany [AFP]

Snow on A93 — Scotland gets its the first snow of the year on the A93 in Aberdeenshire [Reuters]