Heaviest snowfall in almost 20 years brings London and many other parts of the UK to a grinding halt today (February 2), costing UK economy about £1bn.
Scores of people are stranded as snow cripples public transport, schools, hospitals and made driving treacherous. London saw its heaviest snowfalls sin
ce 1991 as temperatures plummeted to as low as -2.4C.
Some parts of London have already recorded up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snow but as Met Office estimated “a further five or six inches” to come, there could be more trouble. Forecasters have issued an extreme weather warning for England, Wales and some parts of Scotland until Wednesday.
Affecting south-east England badly, the snowfall saw hundreds of schools closed and rail, road and air services disrupted. London buses are completely suspended while London Underground lines and Overground services are running with severe delays and in some cases supended. Roadwise, M25 clockwise is closed between Reigate (junction 8 ) and Leatherhead (junction 9) in Surrey.
All flights at Heathrow Airport have been cancelled until 1700 GMT. London City airport and Luton airport remain closed since morning while Gatwick and Stansted are running limited services.
Hospitals in London ran limited operations in the early hours of Monday but have put out an emergency call to NHS staff following an increase in 999 calls.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown says the authorities are doing “everything in our power” to resume transport services at the earliest.
