Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Alcohol has been involved in most of the deaths blamed on the extreme cold in Ukraine, the country worst affected by the icy temperatures gripping eastern Europe, the country's emergencies minister said Wednesday.
Nine out of 10 of the deaths reported have been alcohol-related, the country's Emergency Situations Minister Viktor Baloga said.
At least 135 deaths have been reported in Ukraine in the past two weeks, but he suggested the actual number that can be blamed on the winter weather is somewhat lower, at 112.
Authorities in Ukraine have set up an emergency hospital to deal with people suffering from cold-related conditions, and distributed 3,000 emergency relief tents across the country, they said. The tents are heated, and people with nowhere else to go can get hot food and drinks.
Ukraine's capital, Kiev, has more than 14,000 homeless people, authorities said. They are among the most vulnerable to winter's bitter chill.
About 2,000 people have been hospitalized because of the cold since January 27, officials said.
Kiev marked its 24th consecutive day of below-freezing temperatures Wednesday, with a low of -18C (-0.4 degrees Fahrenheit), CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said. It could normally expect a high of -2 degrees Celsius at this time of year.
And there is little respite in prospect for those suffering in the unusual cold.
Another surge of frigid air is pushing westward out of Russia into the rest of Europe for the end of the week, with central and eastern Europe catching the brunt of the coldest air, Miller said.
Temperatures in some of the hardest hit countries, such as Ukraine, Romania, Hungary and Serbia, will once again reach 15-20 degrees Celsius (25-35 degrees Fahrenheit) below average.
Warsaw, in Poland, which would normally expect a high of 2 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit) has now spent 15 days below freezing, while Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina have spent 14 days in subzero temperatures, well below the average for this time of year of 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit.)
Temperatures look to remain below average well into next week, at the least, with no significant warm-up likely until late February, Miller said.
Parts of the Danube River, one of the most important rivers in Europe for commerce, have nearly frozen over for the first time in 25 years, showing not only the intensity of this cold snap, but also its longevity.
The sustained cold spell is also putting a strain on power providers across the region and raised questions over Europe's reliance on Russia for gas, as supplies sent via Ukraine have dipped below the expected levels.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Boyko said electricity consumption in the country is historically high.
But in an interview with CNN, he rejected suggestions that Ukraine has been siphoning off gas as it transits from Russia to Europe.
Boyko said the main reason for the 30% drop in gas reaching Europe was the extremely cold weather in Russia, which meant a smaller than usual amount of gas entered Ukraine. Instead of Ukraine receiving the expected 500 million cubic meters per day, only 400 million cubic meters came to its western border, he said.
Gazprom, Russia's gas monopoly, has denied sending lower volumes of gas to Europe.
But Boyko said he believed the real answer was that given by deputy chairman of Gazprom, whom he quoted as saying the company was not ready to send additional supplies to Europe during the cold spell.
At least 250 people have died across the region during the cold snap.
In Romania, where at least 39 people have died because of the weather, snow blown by icy winds on the shores of the Black Sea has disrupted road and rail travel and cut power to 35 settlements in southeast Constanta county, state news agency Agerpres reported Wednesday. Water supplies were also cut to 16 of those settlements.
Meanwhile, holiday villas, beaches and resort buildings have been flooded by waves up to 5 meters (16 feet) high swept in from the Black Sea by the winter storms, the news agency said.
Video shot by CNNi Reporter Angela Leeb in Constanta Wednesday showed a fierce snowstorm howling outside her home.
It's "still very windy and cold but not snowing," she said. A yacht rides loose on the shore, torn from its moorings by a bad snow storm last week, she said.
As the week started, all "national roads," or two-lane highways, in seven counties in the country's south and east were completely blocked by snow, Agerpres reported.
More than 50 people, most of them homeless, have died in Poland in the past several weeks, according to Polish TVN. At least 64 people have died because of the cold in Russia, the government said.
Snow has also fallen as far west as Spain and snarled traffic in Brussels, Belgium. Snowfall in Europe's southeast, close to the Mediterranean Sea, has cut off roads and isolated areas from access to supplies.
Southeastern Europe will see more heavy snow in contrast to the northeast, which is predicted to shiver under temperatures much lower than its winter averages, meteorologists said.
The German capital, Berlin, has spent nearly two weeks below freezing, whereas it would normally average 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit).
In Berlin, CNN iReporter Meghan Nevill said it is too cold to stay outside for longer than 10 minutes. A dam in the city, the Muggelseedamm, has frozen entirely solid, she said.
Britain's Met Office is warning of wintry weather over the next few days, with freezing rain and ice expected Wednesday night across northern England and parts of Scotland.
Temperatures in Paris have been below freezing for a week.
- CNN
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