Taking cover: Frigid temperatures and snow have wreaked havoc from Asia to Europe to North America this week, leaving many people hoping that the cold snap passes soon. Above, a pedestrian in downtown Seoul on Jan. 4 uses an umbrella as shield against the falling white fluff while trudging across the snow-covered ground. That day, 28 centimeters (11 inches) of snow fell on the South Korean capital, the most in a single day since meteorological records began being kept in 1937.
Party's very over: Ringing in the new decade was certainly a blast, but now it's an Arctic blast that has been chilling northern Europe. Above, snow blankets empty bottles left over from New Year's festivities in front of the Reichstag building on Jan. 2 in Berlin. Today the Bild Zeitung reported that eastern Berlin could expect 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) of snow by Jan. 10. Berlin's temperatures are on track to make it the coldest winter there in more than 30 years, and waterways into the city have begun to freeze, hampering coal and oil product deliveries.
Orient Express? If you have a warm place to sleep at night, be very glad. In China's Inner Mongolia region, more than 1,400 passengers were trapped for more than 30 hours in a train than ran into snow more than 2 meters (6 feet, 7 inches) high. Above, rescuers on Jan. 4 evacuate the passengers, who suffered without heating and lighting. Other areas of China, including Beijing, were also buried under the white stuff.
Time to get salty: A worker checks salt supplies in Glasgow, Scotland, on Jan. 4. Although the salt is piled in mountains in this photo, there have been concerns in Scotland about a salt shortage, particularly in the Fife council area. Scotland has being going through an "Arctic fortnight," with nighttime temperatures between -10 and -5 degrees Celsius (14 and 23 degrees Fahrenheit). It's not expected to let up for at least week, leaving as many as 1 million Scottish sheep in peril of being frozen or starved to death.
Temperature going downhill: It may be frigid, but the mood is upbeat for the boy above who was gleefully sliding down a snow-covered hill near a church in Moscow on Jan. 4, a day when the Russian capital reached -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit). Winter tips from Russians include eating a hearty breakfast of potatoes fried in lard, applying cream made from badger fat to protect children's cheeks from the winter air, and using cheap vodka as a nonfreezing windshield cleaning fluid.
Getting steamy: The outdoors don't have to be cold if you're in Bath, England. There, you can enjoy the naturally heated spa water at the Thermae Bath Spa, seen above on Jan. 6. The natural thermal water is believed to have originated as rain 10,000 years ago before descending below the Earth's surface. Heated by hot rocks, it now emerges at an average temperature of 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) through a break in the limestone beneath Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage site that was once occupied by the Romans and Celts.
Sleighing in a winter wonderland: Snowfall has been creating beautiful white landscapes across many parts of Europe, including in the southern German town of Wildbad Kreuth, where a man drove a horse-drawn sleigh on Jan 4. It wasn't dashing through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh for all Germans, though. Ten homeless people have died, and an Arctic cold front is expected to drop temperatures to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) this weekend.
In a fog: It's not just the far north that has been experiencing a cold snap during the past week. New Delhi, notoriously hot in the summertime, has been enshrouded with fog as temperatures have fallen, with low temperatures between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius (41 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit). That's hardly cold at all by the standards of more northern climes, but that doesn't mean the unusual weather hasn't wreaked havoc. Numerous flights have been delayed due to the fog, and the poor visibility has led to train cancellations, stranding tens of thousands. Above, tourists visit the fog-enshrouded India Gate monument in New Delhi on Jan 2.
Snow forms a mini-tower atop an Asian statue at Willow Pool Antique Centre in Lymm, Britain, on Jan. 5. Britain had its coldest Christmas period in 25 years, according to the Met Office, the country's national weather service. Icy winds are expected this weekend, and the Met Office's chief forecaster predicts, "Temperatures will struggle to rise above freezing across most of the country by day, with severe and penetrating frosts at night."
Walking on (frozen) water: People take a joyful walk on the frozen Lake of Mentieth in Scotland during the late afternoon on Jan. 4. Curlers have also been practicing their sport on the frozen surface there. Arctic conditions are expected to endure for many places through mid-January, meaning many people will either have to stay in and chill out.
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