Photo Credit: Church of One

Seattle’s snowpocalpyse was a breeze compared to the lethal cold snap Europe is dealing with.

Temperatures as low as -33 degrees Fahrenheit have taken more than 200 lives in central and eastern Europe since the cold front began more than a week ago, according to BBC News.

Today, BBC News reported that 131 people have frozen to death in Ukraine and more than 1,800 have been hospitalized according to officials. Nine died overnight. The snap has killed 53 people in Poland, eight of which died overnight, and at least four have died in France. Many who lost their lives to the cold were homeless.

Reuters reported that several regions, including parts of Greece and Bosnia, have declared states of emergency.

As of Friday, about 6.5 feet of snow had barricaded thousands of mountain villagers in the mountains of Bosnia and Serbia, according to the Washington Post. In Serbia, approximately 70,000 people remain cut off. Helicopters have been airlifting food and supplies to the stranded villagers and helping people evacuate. BBC reported that snow has fallen in the region since as early as January.

Even the Mediterranean Islands have been affected by the cold front, with over eight inches of snow in Corsica last week. Rome has experienced several transportation issues in response to the weather and, according to CNN, it was the city’s first snowfall since 1985. According to BBC, the Italian national rail operator face lawsuits after hundreds of people were trapped inside the trains. Wreaking havoc on transportation outside of Italy as well, London’s Heathrow airport planned to run only 50 percent of its services yesterday.

But not everything about the cold snap is bleak. The Washington Post reported that people in the Netherlands have been enjoying their time iceskating on the country’s frozen canals.

The Washington Post attributes the unusual weather to a simultaneous weakening of the two pressure systems that create Europe’s typical west to east airflow, which is the airflow responsible for Europe’s temperate weather. Because the two pressure systems were weakened, it disrupted this airflow and allowed freezing air from Siberia to leak westward into Europe. When arctic air drifts into Europe it usually means that the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and North Atlantic Oscillations (NAO) are in their negative phases, but currently the oscillations are on different patterns, according to the Washington Post. Europe has experienced extremely cold weather conditions extensively because the AO is negative while the NAO is positive.