An Arctic blast for Kazakhstan
Central Asian country is hit by blizzards and dangerously low temperatures, upsetting traffic in the capital, Astana.
Published On 24 Feb 2014
A cold front from Siberia has brought severe snowstorms to the majority of Kazakhstan.
Snowstorms swept southern and eastern areas on Saturday with wind speeds in excess of 50kph.
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As the blizzard raged, all the markets and highways in the capital city of Astana were forced to close.
The cold front forced the temperatures to plummet. On Friday the temperatures were a balmy -2C, but by Sunday, the temperatures failed to climb over -26C during the day.
During the night, temperatures dropped to the dangerous lows of -36C. The winds were blowing at around 18kph, meaning that the weather felt more like -49C.
Temperatures this low are very hazardous, frostbite and hypothermia can develop within minutes.
The temperatures are slowly expected to recover over the next few days, with highs of -4C expected by Thursday.
Source: Al Jazeera