After what was overall an extremely mild autumn, winter temperatures have dropped considerably across Europe, a fact that has been deemed “likely” to worsen the continent’s gas crisis.
The ongoing European gas crisis is now “likely” to worsen significantly as a winter cold snap sweeps across the northern half of the continent, bringing with it an increased need for heating.
Having made itself extremely reliant on Russian gas and oil exports for the sake of its green agenda, Europe has been struggling with serious energy insecurity issues since the start of the Ukraine war earlier this year.
However, while unseasonably warm weather up until now has so far helped reduce the need to burn ever-scarcer gas to heat homes, temperatures across the north of the continent have now dropped significantly as a result of an arctic air blast.
According to a report by The Guardian, the United Kingdom has seen temperatures plummet, with the country’s weather agencies warning of serious ice and snow throughout the country, while similar warnings have also been issued in neighbouring Ireland.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg writes that experts are forecasting temperatures to drop to as low as -23 degrees Celsius (-9.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Scandinavia, with sub-zero temperatures also being expected for Germany.
Experts believe that all of this is likely to drive energy usage up significantly across the north of the continent over the coming days.
“It is very likely that there will be an increase in heating demand to cope with the colder conditions that are likely to persist through most of the month,” one meteorologist told the business publication.
While some of Europe’s wealthier denizens may get to enjoy the cold weather, as well as the festive spirit it may evoke, the sudden shift towards below-freezing temperatures will likely result in serious hardship for many more.
With huge numbers across the continent already struggling under increased heating, electricity and food costs, the decrease in temperature is likely to require them to either turn up their thermostats at the expense of their wallets or risk freezing in order to stay fed.
Many parents will likely be forced to skip meals in order to keep their children warm, with over half of households in the United Kingdom reported to have already cut back on the number of meals they eat per day.
Some medical experts have even warned that Britain will see children die as a result of inadequately heated homes, which they warn will likely result in many developing serious respiratory issues.
The drop is also extremely bad news for Germany, which has already been warned that it could completely run out of gas by the end of next February should extremely cold temperatures interfere with its aim to cut gas consumption by one-fifth compared to last year.
To make matters worse, even if the country does manage to get through this winter without rationing measures and rolling blackouts, the impact of the energy crisis is likely to last years, and could possibly result in the destruction of German manufacturing.