The Arctic conditions
sweeping Europe have tightened their grip, with more deaths reported in
Poland and Ukraine, taking the toll to well over 200.
Polish authorities said nine people had died in the last 24 hours.
An EU official denied there was an emergency as a result of a drop in Russian gas supplies to member states.
But Italy's economic development minister described the
situation in the country - where some 60,000 households are without
power - as "critical".
Overnight in Poland temperatures reportedly dropped to beneath -30C.
Ukraine's government has said that the country's death toll stands at least 130.
Many of those who died from hypothermia there were homeless people living on the streets, officials said.
“Start Quote
People are in panic”
Mihail Liskov
Mayor, Biser, Bulgaria
In parts of Italy, temperatures
dropped to their lowest levels for years, with -10C recorded in Milan
and heavy snow closing Rome's Colosseum and the Roman Forum.
A total of 17 people have died since the plunging temperatures began in Italy, with eight dead on Sunday alone.
Economic Development Minister Corrado Passera said gas flows
were being closely monitored after demand in the country reached
all-time highs following a sixth straight day of limited gas supplies
from Russia.
'Cold wave'
The Tuscan towns of Arezzo and Siena - where some 36,000
households have been without power for days - said they were considering
taking legal action against Italian power supplier ENI.
Some tourist attractions in the Italian capital have been closed due to snow
The firm's chief Paolo Scaroni said they were importing extra gas from Algeria and northern Europe to make up the shortfall.
"We are expecting another cold wave in Russia and we don't
know how Gazprom will behave on Thursday and Friday," Mr Scaroni said,
according to Agence France Presse.
EU energy spokeswoman Marlene Holzner said that despite a
decrease in gas deliveries in Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary,
Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Italy, "it's not a situation of emergency
yet".
The extreme weather has also affected central and eastern Europe's remote villages and hamlets.
In southern Bulgaria, five people were reported to have been
drowned as torrential rains broke a dam wall and submerged the village
of Biser beneath 2.5m (8ft) of icy water, AFP reports.
"People are in panic. Ninety per cent of the village is underwater," mayor Mihail Liskov told Bulgarian radio.
Many of the village's 800 trapped residents will have to be rescued by helicopter or boat.
Schools shut
In Bosnia-Hercegovina, hundreds of villages have been cut off
behind snowed-in roads and avalanches and authorities have been using
helicopters to evacuate the sick and deliver food.
Authorities said they have had no contact for 72 hours with
about 120 people in the central village of Zijemlja, where residents
have no electricity or phone lines, AP reports.
The Serbian government declared an emergency late on Sunday,
saying the intense snowfall had cut off some 70,000 people. All primary
schools and high schools were shut down for a week to save power and
keep children safe.
Meanwhile, some were celebrating the icy conditions.
Wine-makers in the south-east of the Czech Republic had been
waiting for the weather to dip beneath -7C to be able to harvest frozen
grapes for their ice wine.
Snow dusted the palm-trees in the Algerian capital, Algiers,
the first time many local recalled snow falling there for eight years.
In the Netherlands, speed-skaters are hoping that freezing
conditions continue so they are able to hold an ice-skating marathon
along a 125-mile (200k) network of canals connecting 11 cities in the
country's Friesland Province.
The Eleven Cities Tour race has only been held 15 times since it was first officially organised in 1909,
