Acropolis covered by rare snow as cold snap hits Athens

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Acropolis covered by rare snow as cold snap hits Athens

ATHENS: A thick blanket of snow covered Greece's ancient Acropolis on Tuesday as a cold spell swept through Athens, cutting power cables, disrupting travel and halting COVID-19 vaccinations.

Hellenic republic has seen the heaviest snowfall in over a decade since Saturday, with temperatures plunging to -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the north and rare snow falling over Athens, even on its beaches.

Snow covers a beach following a heavy snow in Artemida, Greece, February sixteen, 2021. REUTERS/Vassilis Triandafyllou

A human being poses next to a snowman wearing a protective face mask and reading "COVID-19", in Athens, Greece, February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Vassilis Triandafyllou

Beyond the majuscule, streets buried in snowfall were closed to traffic. Norwegian ambassador Frode Overland Andersen posted a photograph of a colleague arriving to work in skis.

On the southern coast, tall palm trees and sunbeds were draped in white.

Two children make a snowman on a beach during heavy snow in the suburb of Glyfada, in Athens, Greece, February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas

Two swimmers are seen on a snow-covered beach during heavy snowfall in the suburb of Glyfada, in Athens, Greece, February 16, 2021. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas

Several Athens neighborhoods were hitting by ability cuts triggered past trees collapsing on power lines, the filigree operator said. Two train routes from the capital were likewise disrupted.

Athens, which is in total lockdown after a surge in coronavirus cases and where half of Greece's population of 11 million lives, had to temporarily halt COVID-19 vaccinations, authorities said.

Meteorologists forecast the cold front to subside by the end of the week.

Acropolis covered by rare snow as cold snap hits Athens

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